Methods and Systems for Integrating Virtual Content into an Immersive Virtual Reality World Based on Real-World Scenery

ABSTRACT

An exemplary virtual reality media system assigns a plurality of display parameters to a three-dimensional (“3D”) virtual object that is to be integrated into an immersive virtual reality world. The plurality of display parameters define a time period during which the 3D virtual object is viewable within the world to a user experiencing the world, as well as a location, an orientation, and a size of the 3D virtual object as these appear to the user during the time period. The system integrates the 3D virtual object into the world in accordance with the display parameters and dynamically changes a display parameter during the time period to change the location, orientation, and/or size of the 3D virtual object. The system further integrates content into the world by presenting the content on the 3D virtual object while the display parameter is dynamically changing. Corresponding methods and systems are also disclosed.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/087,926, filed Mar. 31, 2016, and entitled“Methods and Systems for Determining an Effectiveness of Content in anImmersive Virtual Reality World,” which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Advances in computing and networking technology have made new forms ofmedia content possible. For example, virtual reality media content isavailable that may immerse viewers (or “users”) into interactive virtualreality worlds that the users may experience by directing theirattention to any of a variety of things being presented in the immersivevirtual reality world at the same time. For example, at any time duringthe presentation of the virtual reality media content, a userexperiencing the virtual reality media content may look around theimmersive virtual reality world in any direction with respect to both ahorizontal dimension (e.g., forward, backward, left, right, etc.) aswell as a vertical dimension (e.g., up, down, etc.), giving the user asense that he or she is actually present in and experiencing theimmersive virtual reality world.

Because the user may direct his or her attention in any direction withinthe immersive virtual reality world, certain areas of the immersivevirtual reality world (e.g., areas where action is occurring and/orinteresting scenery or objects may be displayed) may draw the attentionof the user and be viewed carefully, repeatedly, or for long periods oftime by the user. In contrast, other areas of the immersive virtualreality world (e.g., areas where there is little or no action and/orinteresting scenery or other objects displayed) may draw little or noattention of the user and may be generally ignored by the user.Accordingly, it may be desirable (e.g., to virtual reality media contentcreators, virtual reality media content providers, etc.) to determinehow much of a user's attention is actually directed to particular areasof immersive virtual reality worlds. Such a determination may facilitatedesigning, creating, distributing, and/or otherwise improving immersivevirtual reality worlds, and/or improving the experience of users withinthe immersive virtual reality worlds.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate various embodiments and are a partof the specification. The illustrated embodiments are merely examplesand do not limit the scope of the disclosure. Throughout the drawings,identical or similar reference numbers designate identical or similarelements.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary configuration in which exemplaryimplementations of a 360-degree camera, a virtual reality media backendsystem, and a media player device operate to determine an effectivenessof content in an immersive virtual reality world according to principlesdescribed herein.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary virtual reality experience in which auser is presented with an exemplary field of view that includes contentof an exemplary immersive virtual reality world according to principlesdescribed herein.

FIG. 3 illustrates exemplary media player devices configured tofacilitate experiencing the immersive virtual reality world of FIG. 2 bya user according to principles described herein.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary virtual reality media system configuredto determine an effectiveness of content in an immersive virtual realityworld according to principles described herein.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary configuration where the virtual realitymedia system of FIG. 4 is in communication with other systems and/ordevices to determine and use an effectiveness of content in an immersivevirtual reality world according to principles described herein.

FIG. 6 illustrates exemplary display parameters assigned to an exemplaryvirtual object on which a commercial advertisement is presented tointegrate the virtual object into an immersive virtual reality worldaccording to principles described herein.

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrates an exemplary field of view of an immersivevirtual reality world into which the virtual object of FIG. 6 isintegrated according to principles described herein.

FIG. 9 illustrates exemplary aggregated promotional effectiveness datafor an exemplary commercial advertisement with respect to an exemplaryplurality of users according to principles described herein.

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary configuration in which an exemplaryvirtual reality media backend system and an exemplary media playerdevice operate to insert additional content into an immersive virtualreality world according to principles described herein.

FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary virtual reality media program metadatafile according to principles described herein.

FIGS. 12 and 13 illustrate exemplary methods for determining aneffectiveness of content in an immersive virtual reality world accordingto principles described herein.

FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary computing device according toprinciples described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Methods and systems for determining an effectiveness of content in animmersive virtual reality world are described herein. As will bedescribed and illustrated below, a virtual reality media system mayprovide for display on a display screen of a media player deviceassociated with a user, a field of view of an immersive virtual realityworld. The immersive virtual reality world may be fully immersive in thesense that the user may not be presented with any image of the realworld in which the user is located while the user is experiencing theimmersive virtual reality world, in contrast to certain “augmentedreality” technologies. However, while real-world scenery directlysurrounding the user may not be presented together with the immersivevirtual reality world, the immersive virtual reality world may, incertain examples, be generated based on data (e.g., image and/or audiodata) representative of camera-captured real-world scenery rather thananimated or computer-generated scenery of imaginary worlds such as thosecommonly generated for video games, animated entertainment programs, andso forth. For example, as will be described in more detail below,camera-captured real-world scenery may include real-world places (e.g.,city streets, buildings, landscapes, etc.), real-world events (e.g.,sporting events, large celebrations such as New Year's Eve or MardiGras, etc.), fictionalized live action entertainment (e.g., virtualreality television shows, virtual reality movies, etc.), and so forth.

The user may experience the immersive virtual reality world by way ofthe field of view. For example, the field of view may include content ofthe immersive virtual reality world (e.g., images depicting scenery andobjects surrounding the user within the immersive virtual realityworld). Additionally, the field of view may dynamically change inresponse to user input provided by the user as the user experiences theimmersive virtual reality world. For example, the media player devicemay detect user input (e.g., moving or turning the display screen uponwhich the field of view is presented) that represents a request to shiftadditional content into the field of view in place of the previouscontent included within the field of view. In response, the field ofview may display the additional content in place of the previouscontent. In this way, the field of view may essentially provide the usera “window” through which the user can easily and naturally look aroundthe immersive virtual reality world.

Because the user may direct his or her attention in any direction and/ortoward any content within the immersive virtual reality world, certaincontent included within the immersive virtual reality world (e.g.,content corresponding to areas of the immersive virtual reality worldwhere action is occurring and/or interesting scenery or objects may bedisplayed) may receive a relatively large amount of the attention of theuser. Conversely, other content included within the immersive virtualreality world (e.g., content corresponding to areas of the immersivevirtual reality world where there is little or no action and/orinteresting scenery or other objects displayed) may receive a relativelysmall amount of the attention of the user. Accordingly, it may bedesirable (e.g., to virtual reality media content creators, virtualreality media content providers, etc.) to determine an effectiveness ofcontent within the immersive virtual reality world.

As used herein, an “effectiveness” of content may refer to an ability ora tendency of the content to draw and/or receive attention of usersexperiencing the immersive virtual reality world. For example, aparticular object or section of scenery displayed within the immersivevirtual reality world may have a high effectiveness because many usersmay tend to direct the field of view to look at that object or scenery.Conversely, another object or section of scenery displayed within theimmersive virtual reality world may have a relatively low effectivenessbecause many users may be likely to not direct the field of view to lookat that object or scenery very often or for a very long time.

Determining the effectiveness of particular content in an immersivevirtual reality world may facilitate designing, creating, distributing,and/or otherwise improving immersive virtual reality worlds experiencedby users. As one example, a virtual reality media system may integrate acommercial advertisement into an immersive virtual reality world. Aneffectiveness of the content of the immersive virtual reality world thatincludes the commercial advertisement (i.e., the “promotionaleffectiveness of the commercial advertisement”) may be determined.Specifically, the promotional effectiveness of the commercialadvertisement may indicate how well the content of the commercialadvertisement serves a promotional purpose of the commercialadvertisement (e.g., how likely users are to direct attention to thecontent). For example, the commercial advertisement may be presented onan outer surface of a virtual object integrated into the immersivevirtual reality world. In certain examples, the virtual object may beused primarily as a platform for inserting promotional content into theimmersive virtual reality world, while in other examples the virtualobject may add value to the immersive virtual reality world beyond thepromotional function of the virtual object. Commercial advertisementsand virtual objects upon which the commercial advertisements may bepresented will be described in more detail below.

The virtual reality media system may detect that a gaze of the user(e.g., the attention of the user based on where the user is looking) isdirected at the commercial advertisement integrated within the immersivevirtual reality world while the commercial advertisement is includedwithin the field of view. For example, as will be described in moredetail below, the virtual reality media system may determine or trackthe gaze of the user by using a gaze reticle persistently centeredwithin the field of view, by tracking eye movements of the user (e.g.,detecting and tracking an angle at which the retinas of the user's eyesare directed) to precisely determine which area of the field of view theuser is viewing, by tracking movement of a controller associated withthe media player device (e.g., a ring controller, a wearable controller,a handheld controller, etc.), by using raytracing techniques, or byusing any other suitable technique that may serve a particularembodiment. Once the virtual reality media system has detected that thegaze of the user is directed at the commercial advertisement, thevirtual reality media system may also track an amount of time that thegaze of the user is directed at the commercial advertisement.

Based on the amount of time that the gaze of the user is determined tobe directed at the commercial advertisement, the virtual reality mediasystem may generate reportable analytics data for the commercialadvertisement with respect to the user, referred to herein aspromotional effectiveness data. For example, the promotionaleffectiveness data may include data related to a number of times theuser viewed the commercial advertisement, an amount of time the userspent viewing the advertisement in a particular instance, a total amountof time the user spent viewing the advertisement, whether a supplementalaction (e.g., playback of a video associated with the commercialadvertisement) was triggered based on the length of time that the userviewed the advertisement, and so forth. Profile data (e.g., demographicdata, personal data, etc.) related to the user may be incorporated intothe promotional effectiveness data. Moreover, the promotionaleffectiveness data with respect to the user may be aggregated withpromotional effectiveness data with respect to a plurality of otherusers. Examples of promotional effectiveness data and how promotionaleffectiveness data may be generated will be provided below.

Subsequent to generating and/or aggregating the promotionaleffectiveness data, in certain examples the virtual reality media systemmay provide the promotional effectiveness data to a billing systemconfigured to bill a commercial sponsor associated with the commercialadvertisement. For example, the billing system may be configured toautomatically bill the commercial sponsor by charging an advertising feeand/or receiving a payable amount from an account of the commercialsponsor based on the promotional effectiveness of the commercialadvertisement. In other words, if the promotional effectiveness datareveals that the commercial advertisement reached at least a certainpredetermined level of effectiveness for a particular user or set ofusers, the billing system may be configured to bill the commercialsponsor a higher amount than if the promotional effectiveness datareveals that the commercial advertisement did not reach thepredetermined level of effectiveness for the particular user or set ofusers.

Accordingly, determining promotional effectiveness of commercialadvertisements in an immersive virtual reality world as described hereinmay provide significant advantages to both virtual reality media contentproviders and to commercial sponsors paying to integrate commercialadvertisements into the virtual reality media content. In particular,both parties may benefit from fair and/or accurate pricing models foradvertisements integrated into virtual reality media content becauseproviders may receive more advertising revenue when virtual realitymedia content successfully facilitates the promotion of the sponsors'products and/or services, and the amount that sponsors are billed foradvertising may be directly proportional to the promotionaleffectiveness of the advertising. To the extent that promotionaleffectiveness is determined in relation to specific users and theirinterests and/or purchasing habits, the users may also benefit by beingpresented with more relevant advertising, a lower volume of advertising,and/or higher quality virtual reality media content supported byeffective advertising.

Various embodiments will now be described in more detail with referenceto the figures. The disclosed methods and systems may provide one ormore of the benefits mentioned above and/or various additional and/oralternative benefits that will be made apparent herein.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary configuration 100 in which exemplaryembodiments of a 360-degree camera, a virtual reality media backendsystem, and one or more media player devices operate to determine aneffectiveness of content (e.g., promotional effectiveness of commercialadvertisements) in an immersive virtual reality world. As shown in FIG.1, a 360-degree camera 102 (“camera 102”) may capture and/or generate a360-degree image of real-world scenery 104 around a center pointcorresponding to camera 102. For example, camera 102 may capture aplurality of images from each of a plurality of segment capture cameras106 built into or otherwise associated with camera 102, and may generatethe 360-degree image of real-world scenery 104 by combining theplurality of images captured by segment-capture cameras 106.

Camera 102 may capture data representative of 360-degree images ofreal-world scenery 104 and transmit the data to a virtual reality mediabackend system 108 (“backend system 108”) by way of a network 110. Afterpreparing and/or processing the data representative of the 360-degreeimages to generate an immersive virtual reality world based on the360-degree images, backend system 108 may transmit data representativeof the immersive virtual reality world to one or more media playerdevices 112 such as a head-mounted virtual reality device 112-1, apersonal computer device 112-2, a mobile device 112-3, and/or to anyother form factor of media player device that may serve a particularimplementation. Regardless of what form factor media player devices 112take, users 114 (e.g., users 114-1 through 114-3) may experience theimmersive virtual reality world by way of media player devices 112. Eachof the elements of configuration 100 will now be described in detail.

Camera 102 may be set up and/or operated by a virtual reality contentcreator and may include any type of camera that is configured to capturedata representative of a 360-degree image of real-world scenery 104around a center point corresponding to camera 102. As used herein, a360-degree image is any still or video image that depicts thesurroundings (e.g., real-world scenery 104) of a center point (e.g., acenter point associated with the location of camera 102) on all sidesalong at least one dimension. For example, one type of 360-degree imagemay include a panoramic image that depicts a complete 360-degree by45-degree ring around a center point corresponding to a camera (e.g.,camera 102). Another type of 360-degree image may include a sphericalimage that depicts not only the ring around the center point, but anentire 360-degree by 180-degree sphere surrounding the center point onall sides. In certain examples, a 360-degree image may be based on anon-circular geometric structure. For example, certain 360-degree imagesmay be based on cubes, rectangular prisms, pyramids, and/or othergeometric structures that may serve a particular implementation, ratherthan being based on spheres.

Camera 102 may be configured to capture the data representative of the360-degree image of real-world scenery 104 in any way that may serve aparticular implementation. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, camera 102may capture various segments of real-world scenery 104 using segmentcapture cameras 106, which may each capture an image of a single segmentof real-world scenery 104 that may be combined (e.g., stitched together)with other segments to generate the 360-degree image of real-worldscenery 104. In certain examples, segment capture cameras 106 may eachrepresent a single camera unit (e.g., including a lens and suitableimage capture hardware) built into a single 360-degree camera configuredto capture 360-degree images. In other examples, camera 102 may includean array of segment capture cameras 106 that are each a single,standalone camera configured to capture standard images (e.g., imagesdepicting less than a 360-degree view) that may later be combined toform the 360-degree image. In yet other examples, camera 102 may includeone or more “fish-eye” lenses configured to capture a very wide-angleimage (e.g., a spherical image or a semi-spherical image) that can beused as the 360-degree image or processed to generate the 360-degreeimage. Alternatively, camera 102 may include a single, standard camerathat captures and/or combines a plurality of still images of real-worldscenery 104 taken at different points in time (e.g., using a “panoramamode” of the camera or a similar feature) to capture still 360-degreeimages. In certain examples, camera 102 may include one or morestereoscopic cameras. Camera 102 may also use any combination of the360-degree image capture techniques described above or any other capturetechniques that may serve a particular implementation.

Subsequent to capturing raw image data representative of real-worldscenery 104, camera 102 may generate from the raw image data a360-degree image of real-world scenery 104. For example, camera 102 maybe configured to automatically process the raw image data (e.g., bycombining a plurality of images captured by segment capture cameras 106,by processing images captured by a fish-eye lens, etc.) to form the360-degree image, and then may transmit data representative of the360-degree image to backend system 108. Alternatively, camera 102 may beconfigured to transmit the raw image data directly to backend system108, and any processing and/or combining of the raw image data may beperformed within backend system 108.

Camera 102 may capture any real-world scenery 104 that may serve aparticular embodiment. For example, real-world scenery 104 may includeany indoor or outdoor real-world location such as the streets of a city,a museum, a scenic landscape, a satellite orbiting and looking down uponthe Earth, the surface of another planet, or the like. Real-worldscenery 104 may further include certain events such as a stock car race,a football game or other sporting event, a large-scale party such as NewYear's Eve on Times Square in New York City, or other events that mayinterest potential users. In certain examples, real-world scenery 104may be a setting for a fictionalized event, such as a set of alive-action virtual reality television show or movie.

In some implementations, capturing real-world scenery 104 using camera102 may be optional. For example, a 360-degree image of scenerysurrounding a center point may be completely computer-generated (e.g.,animated) based on models of an imaginary world rather than capturedfrom real-world scenery 104 by camera 102. As such, camera 102 may beomitted in certain examples.

Backend system 108 may be associated with (e.g., provided and/or managedby) a virtual reality media content service provider (e.g., a networkservice provider, a cable service provider, a satellite serviceprovider, an Internet service provider, a provider of virtual realitymobile applications, etc.) and may be configured to provide virtualreality media content to users (e.g., subscribers of a virtual realitymedia content service, users who download or otherwise acquire virtualreality mobile applications, etc.) by way of media player devices 112.To this end, backend system 108 may receive, generate, process, and/ormaintain data representative of virtual reality media content. Forexample, backend system 108 may be configured to receive camera-captureddata (e.g., video data captured by camera 102) representative of a360-degree image of real-world scenery 104 around a center pointcorresponding to camera 102. If the camera-captured data is raw imagedata (e.g., image data captured by each of segment capture cameras 106that has not been combined into a 360-image), backend system 108 mayunwrap, combine (i.e., stitch together), or otherwise process the rawimage data to form the 360-degree image representative of real-worldscenery 104.

Based on the camera-captured data representative of real-world scenery104 (e.g., the 360-degree image), backend system 108 may generate andmaintain an immersive virtual reality world (i.e., data representativeof an immersive virtual reality world that may be experienced by auser). For example, backend system 108 may generate a three-dimensional(“3D”) model of the immersive virtual reality world where virtualobjects may be presented along with projections of real-world scenery104 to a user experiencing the immersive virtual reality world. Togenerate the immersive virtual reality world, backend system 108 mayperform video transcoding, slicing, orchestration, modeling, and/or anyother processing that may serve a particular embodiment.

Subsequent to or concurrent with generating one or more immersivevirtual reality worlds associated with one or more virtual reality mediacontent instances (also referred to herein as “virtual reality mediacontent programs”), backend system 108 may provide access to the virtualreality media content programs for users such as subscribers of avirtual reality media content service operated by the virtual realitymedia content provider and/or users who download or otherwise acquirevirtual reality mobile applications provided by the virtual realitymedia content provider. To this end, backend system 108 may present afield of view of the immersive virtual reality world to users by way ofmedia player devices 112 in response to requests from media playerdevices 112 to access the virtual reality media content. For example, aswill be described in more detail below, backend system 108 may presentthe field of view by transmitting data representative of content of theimmersive virtual reality world (e.g., virtual objects within theimmersive virtual reality world, images of real-world scenery 104, etc.)to media player devices 112, which may render the data to display thecontent on their screens. Examples of immersive virtual reality worlds,fields of view of immersive virtual reality worlds, and virtual objectspresented along with projections of real-world scenery 104 withinimmersive virtual reality worlds will be described below.

Camera 102, backend system 108, and media player devices 112 maycommunicate with one another using any suitable communicationtechnologies, devices, media, and/or protocols supportive of datacommunications, including, but not limited to, socket connections,Ethernet, data bus technologies, data transmission media, communicationdevices, Transmission Control Protocol (“TCP”), Internet Protocol(“IP”), File Transfer Protocol (“FTP”), Telnet, Hypertext TransferProtocol (“HTTP”), HTTPS, Session Initiation Protocol (“SIP”), SimpleObject Access Protocol (“SOAP”), Extensible Mark-up Language (“XML”) andvariations thereof, Real-Time Transport Protocol (“RTP”), User DatagramProtocol (“UDP”), Global System for Mobile Communications (“GSM”)technologies, Code Division Multiple Access (“CDMA”) technologies,Evolution Data Optimized Protocol (“EVDO”), 4G Long Term Evolution(“LTE”), Voice over IP (“VoIP”), Voice over LTE (“VoLTE”), WiMax, TimeDivision Multiple Access (“TDMA”) technologies, Short Message Service(“SMS”), Multimedia Message Service (“MMS”), radio frequency (“RF”)signaling technologies, wireless communication technologies (e.g.,Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, etc.), in-band and out-of-band signaling technologies,and other suitable communications technologies.

Network 110 may include any provider-specific network (e.g., a cable orsatellite carrier network or a mobile telephone network), the Internet,wide area network, or any other suitable network. Data may flow betweencamera 102, backend system 108, and media player devices 112 by way ofnetwork 110 using any communication technologies, devices, media, andprotocols as may serve a particular implementation. While only onenetwork 110 is shown to interconnect camera 102, backend system 108, andmedia player devices 112 in FIG. 1, it will be recognized that thesedevices and systems may intercommunicate by way of multipleinterconnected networks as may serve a particular implementation.

Media player devices 112 (i.e., head-mounted virtual reality device112-1, personal computer device 112-2, and mobile device 112-3) may beused by users 114 (i.e., users 114-1 through 114-3) to access andexperience virtual reality media content received from backend system108. To this end, media player devices 112 may each include or beimplemented by any device capable of presenting a field of view of animmersive virtual reality world and detecting user input from a user(e.g. one of users 114) to dynamically change the content within thefield of view as the user experiences the immersive virtual realityworld. For example, media player devices 112 may include or beimplemented by a head-mounted virtual reality device (e.g., a virtualreality gaming device), a personal computer device (e.g., a desktopcomputer, laptop computer, etc.), a mobile or wireless device (e.g., asmartphone, a tablet device, a mobile reader, etc.), or any other deviceor configuration of devices that may serve a particular implementationto facilitate receiving and/or presenting virtual reality media content.As will be described in more detail below, different types of mediaplayer devices 112 (e.g., head-mounted virtual reality devices, personalcomputer devices, mobile devices, etc.) may provide different types ofvirtual reality experiences having different levels of immersiveness forusers 114.

Media player devices 112 may be configured to allow users 114 to selectrespective virtual reality media content programs that users 114 maywish to experience on their respective media player devices 112. Incertain examples, media player devices 112 may download virtual realitymedia content programs that users 114 may experience offline (e.g.,without an active connection to backend system 108). In other examples,media player devices 112 may request and receive data streamsrepresentative of virtual reality media content programs that users 114experience while media player devices 112 remain in active communicationwith backend system 108 by way of network 110.

To facilitate users 114 in experiencing virtual reality media content,each of media player devices 112 may include or be associated with atleast one display screen upon which a field of view of an immersivevirtual reality world may be presented. Media player devices 112 mayalso include software configured to receive, maintain, and/or processdata representative of the immersive virtual reality world to presentcontent of the immersive virtual reality world within the field of viewon the display screens of the media player devices. For example, mediaplayer devices 112 may include dedicated, standalone softwareapplications (e.g., mobile applications) configured to process andpresent data representative of immersive virtual reality worlds on thedisplays. In other examples, the software used to present the content ofthe immersive virtual reality worlds may include non-dedicated softwaresuch as standard web browser applications.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary virtual reality experience 200 in whicha user 202 is presented with an exemplary field of view 204 thatincludes content 206 of an exemplary immersive virtual reality world208. User 202 may experience immersive virtual reality world 208 (“world208”) by providing user input to dynamically change field of view 204 todisplay whatever content within world 208 that user 202 wishes to view.For example, the user input provided by user 202 may include anindication that user 202 wishes to look at content not currentlypresented within field of view 204 (i.e., content of world 208 otherthan content 206). For media player devices 112 such as personalcomputer 112-2 and/or mobile device 112-3, this user input may include amouse movement, navigation key input from a keyboard, a swipe gesture,or the like. For media player devices 112 incorporating particularsensors (e.g., motion, directional, and/or orientation sensors) such ashead-mounted virtual reality device 112-1 and/or mobile device 112-3,however, this user input may include a change to an orientation of thedisplay screen of the media player device 112 with respect to at leastone axis of at least two orthogonal axes. For example, the media playerdevice may be configured to sense changes in orientation of the displayscreen with respect to an x-axis, a y-axis, and a z-axis that are allorthogonal to one another. As such, the media player device 112 may beconfigured to detect the change to the orientation of the display screenas user 202 experiences world 208, and the dynamic changing of thecontent includes gradually replacing content 206 with other content ofworld 208 that is determined to be visible from a viewpoint of user 202within world 208 according to the detected change to the orientation ofthe display screen with respect to the at least one axis.

To illustrate, FIG. 2 shows that content 206 may include real-worldscenery depicting a beach with palm trees and a surfboard. User 202 mayprovide user input to a media player device by which user 202 isexperiencing world 208 (e.g., one of media player devices 112) toindicate that user 202 wishes to look at content to the left of content206 currently included within field of view 204. For example, user 202may press a left navigation key on a keyboard, perform a swipe gestureto the right, or change the orientation of the display screen withrespect to a y-axis by rotating his or her head to the left whilewearing a head-mounted device. In response, the real-world scenery(i.e., the palm trees, the surfboard, etc.) may scroll to the rightacross field of view 204 to give user 202 a sensation that he or she isturning to look to the left in world 208. As content 206 scrolls off theright side of field of view 204, new content (not explicitly shown inFIG. 2) smoothly scrolls onto the left side of field of view 204. Inthis way, user 202 may provide user input to cause field of view 204 topresent any part of world 208 that user 202 desires.

In FIG. 2, world 208 is illustrated as a semi-sphere, indicating thatuser 202 may look in any direction that is substantially forward,backward, left, right, and/or up. However, if user 202 directs field ofview 204 down, world 208 may not include dynamic and/or real-worldscenery content to be presented within field of view 204. For example,if world 208 includes a dynamic immersive virtual reality world (i.e.,using a 360-degree video image), field of view 204 may present a stillimage representative of the ground of world 208. In other examples,field of view 204 may present nothing (i.e., a black screen), a menu,one or more virtual objects, or any other suitable image that may servea particular implementation. In other examples, world 208 may include anentire 360-degree by 180-degree sphere so that every direction in whichuser 202 may direct field of view 204 is associated with dynamic and/orreal-world content of world 208.

As shown in FIG. 2, world 208 may appear to surround a center point 210associated with user 202. In some embodiments, center point 210 maycorrespond to a location of a camera (e.g., camera 102) used to capturethe content of world 208 (e.g., including content 206). As such, centerpoint 210 may be static or may move through world 208 in a way that user202 is unable to control (e.g. moving through world 208 in a same manneras camera 102 moved through real-world scenery 104 during the creationof the virtual reality media content). In other embodiments, user 202may be able to provide input to modify where center point 210 is locatedwithin world 208. For example, user 202 may hop from one center point toanother (e.g., corresponding to where each of a plurality of 360-degreecameras captured 360-degree images) within world 208 or cause centerpoint 210 to move continuously within world 208. While center point 210is illustrated at the feet of user 202 for simplicity of illustration,it will be understood that center point 210 may actually be located atthe eye level of user 202.

As mentioned above, different types of media player devices may providedifferent experiences for user 202 by presenting field of view 204 ofworld 208 in different ways, by receiving user input from user 202 indifferent ways, and so forth. To illustrate, FIG. 3 shows exemplarymedia player devices 300 configured to facilitate experiencing of world208 by user 202. Media player devices 300 may correspond to media playerdevices 112, described above in relation to FIG. 1.

As one example, a head-mounted virtual reality device 302 may be mountedon the head of user 202 and arranged so that each of the eyes of user202 sees a distinct display screen 304 (e.g., display screens 304-1 and304-2) within head-mounted virtual reality device 302. In some examples,a single display screen 304 may be presented and shared by both eyes ofuser 202. In other examples, as shown, distinct display screens 304within head-mounted virtual reality device 302 may be configured todisplay slightly different versions of field of view 204 (e.g.,stereoscopic versions of field of view 204 that may be captured by oneor more stereoscopic cameras) to give user 202 the sense that world 208is three-dimensional. Display screens 304 may also be configured todisplay content 206 such that content 206 fills the peripheral vision ofuser 202, providing even more of a sense of realism to user 202.Moreover, head-mounted virtual reality device 302 may include motionsensors (e.g., accelerometers), directional sensors (e.g.,magnetometers), orientation sensors (e.g., gyroscopes), and/or othersuitable sensors to detect natural movements (e.g., head movements) ofuser 202 as user 202 experiences world 208. Thus, user 202 may provideinput indicative of a desire to move field of view 204 in a certaindirection and by a certain amount in world 208 by simply turning his orher head in that direction and by that amount. As such, head-mountedvirtual reality device 302 may provide user 202 with a natural andhands-free experience that does not require any physical console controlto experience the immersive virtual reality world and that may be themost immersive virtual reality experience provided by any type of mediaplayer device.

As another example of a media player device, a personal computer device306 having a display screen 308 (e.g., a monitor) may be used by user202 to experience world 208. Because display screen 308 may not providethe distinct stereoscopic view for each of the user's eyes and/or maynot fill the user's peripheral vision, personal computer device 306 maynot provide the same degree of immersiveness that head-mounted virtualreality device 302 provides. However, personal computer device 306 maybe associated with other advantages such as its ubiquity among casualvirtual reality users that may not be inclined to purchase or use ahead-mounted virtual reality device. In some examples, personal computerdevice 306 may allow a user to experience virtual reality content withina standard web browser so that user 202 may conveniently experienceworld 208 without using special devices or downloading special software.User 202 may provide user input to personal computer device 306 by wayof a keyboard 310 (e.g., using navigation keys on keyboard 310 to movefield of view 204) and/or by way of a mouse 312 (e.g., by moving mouse312 to move field of view 204). In certain examples, a combination ofkeyboard 310 and mouse 312 may be used to provide user input such as bymoving field of view 204 by way of navigation keys on keyboard 310 andclicking or otherwise interacting with objects within world 208 by wayof mouse 312.

As yet another example of a media player device, a mobile device 314having a display screen 316 may be used by user 202 to experience world208. Mobile device 314 may incorporate certain advantages of bothhead-mounted virtual reality devices and personal computer devices toprovide the most versatile type of media player device for experiencingworld 208. Specifically, like personal computer devices, mobile devicesare extremely ubiquitous, potentially providing access to many morepeople than dedicated head-mounted virtual reality devices. However,because many mobile devices are equipped with motion sensors,directional sensors, orientation sensors, etc., mobile devices may alsobe configured to provide user 202 with an immersive experiencecomparable to that provided by head-mounted virtual reality devices. Forexample, mobile device 314 may be configured to divide display screen316 into two versions (e.g., stereoscopic versions) of field of view 204and to present content 206 to fill the peripheral vision of user 202when mobile device 314 is mounted to the head of user 202 using arelatively inexpensive and commercially-available mounting apparatus(e.g., a cardboard apparatus). In other embodiments, mobile device 314may facilitate experiencing world 208 by receiving movement-based userinput at arm's length (i.e., not mounted to the head of user 202 butacting as a hand-held dynamic window for looking around world 208), byreceiving swipe gestures on a touchscreen, or by other techniques thatmay serve a particular embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary virtual reality media system 400(“system 400”) configured to determine an effectiveness of content(e.g., promotional effectiveness of commercial advertisements) in animmersive virtual reality world. As shown, system 400 may include,without limitation, a communication facility 402, an advertisementintegration facility 404, a tracking facility 406, a virtual realitymedia content presentation facility 408, and a storage facility 410selectively and communicatively coupled to one another. It will berecognized that although facilities 402-410 are shown to be separatefacilities in FIG. 4, any of facilities 402-410 may be combined intofewer facilities, such as into a single facility, or divided into morefacilities as may serve a particular implementation.

While examples of certain media player devices have been described, theexamples are illustrative and not limiting. A media player device mayinclude any suitable device and/or configuration of devices configuredto facilitate receipt and presentation of virtual reality media contentaccording to principles described herein. For example, a media playerdevice may include a tethered device configuration (e.g., a tetheredheadset device) or an untethered device configuration (e.g., a displayscreen untethered from a processing device). As another example, ahead-mounted virtual reality media player device or other media playerdevice may be used in conjunction with a virtual reality controller suchas a wearable controller (e.g., a ring controller) and/or a handheldcontroller.

System 400 may be implemented by or may include one or more devicesand/or systems of configuration 100, described above in relation toFIG. 1. For example, system 400 may be implemented entirely by backendsystem 108, entirely by one of media player devices 112, or by anycombination of backend system 108 and a media player device 112 that mayserve a particular implementation. In certain embodiments, camera 102,components of network 110, and/or one or more other computing devices(e.g., servers) remote from and communicatively coupled to media playerdevices 112 by way of network 110 may also serve to implement at leastcertain components and/or operations of system 400. As will be describedin more detail below, system 400 may be used to present field of view204 of world 208 (described above in relation to FIG. 2) within adisplay screen of a media player device (e.g., any of the media playerdevices described herein).

Storage facility 410 may maintain virtual reality content data 412and/or promotional effectiveness data 414 generated, received,transmitted, and/or used by communication facility 402, advertisementintegration facility 404, tracking facility 406, and/or virtual realitymedia content presentation facility 408.

For example, virtual reality content data 412 may include datarepresentative of content of world 208 (e.g., data representative of oneor more 360-degree images that include content 206 shown in FIG. 2),data representative of one or more commercial advertisements associatedwith one or more commercial sponsors, data representative of one or morevirtual objects that may be presented within world 208 (e.g., eachhaving one of the commercial advertisements presented on an outersurface of the virtual object), data representative of displayparameters assigned to each of the commercial advertisements and/or toeach of the virtual objects, and/or data used to facilitate mapping eachcommercial advertisement onto an outer surface of each virtual objectsuch that the commercial advertisement is viewable as a skin of thevirtual object when the outer surface of the virtual object is locatedwithin field of view 204 of world 208. Virtual reality content data 412may further include data representative of an area of world 208currently being presented within field of view 204, data used to trackthe location of field of view 204, data used to track a gaze of user 202(i.e., to determine whether user 202 is looking at a commercialadvertisement presented within field of view 204), data used to track anamount of time that the gaze of the user is directed at one or morecommercial advertisements, data used to present and/or render content tobe presented within field of view 204, and/or any other data that mayserve a particular implementation.

Promotional effectiveness data 414 may include data representative of anamount of time that a gaze of user 202 is directed at a commercialadvertisement, a number of separate instances that the gaze of user 202has been directed at the commercial advertisement, whether asupplemental action associated with the commercial advertisement hasbeen triggered based on the amount of time that the gaze of user 202 isdirected at the commercial advertisement, which supplemental actionsassociated with the commercial advertisement have been triggered, and/orprofile data related to user 202. Promotional effectiveness data 414 mayfurther include an aggregation of these or any other suitable datarelated to user 202 and to a plurality of other users experiencing world208. Examples of promotional effectiveness data and aggregatedpromotional effectiveness data will be described in more detail below.

Communication facility 402 may perform any suitable communicationoperations for proper functionality of system 400. For example, as willbe described in more detail below, communication facility 402 may accessa commercial advertisement (e.g., by requesting and receiving datarepresentative of the commercial advertisement from a sponsor or from athird-party advertisement exchange service system). Moreover,communication facility 402 may receive or transmit data representativeof world 208 and commercial advertisements integrated into world 208 tofacilitate virtual reality media content presentation facility 408 inproviding field of view 204 for display on the display screen of one ofmedia player devices 112.

For example, in an embodiment where system 400 is entirely implementedby backend system 108, communication facility 402 may facilitateproviding field of view 204 for display on the display screen bytransmitting data representative of field of view 204 and/or commercialadvertisements integrated into world 208 to one of media player devices112. Conversely, in an implementation where system 400 is entirelyimplemented by a media player device (e.g., one of media player devices112 or 300), communication facility 402 may facilitate providing fieldof view 204 for display on the display screen by receiving datarepresentative of content of world 208 and/or the integrated commercialadvertisements within world 208 from backend system 108.

Additionally, communication facility 402 may be configured to providepromotional effectiveness data (e.g., promotional effectiveness data 414generated by tracking facility 406) to a billing system configured tobill a commercial sponsor associated with the commercial advertisementbased on the promotional effectiveness data, as will be described below.

Advertisement integration facility 404 may perform any suitableoperations for integrating commercial advertisements into world 208. Forexample, as will be described in more detail below, advertisementintegration facility 404 may map a commercial advertisement onto anouter surface of a virtual object such that the commercial advertisementappears as a skin of the virtual object. Advertisement integrationfacility 404 may integrate the virtual object upon which the commercialadvertisement is presented into world 208. To this end, objectintegration facility 404 may facilitate generating world 208 based ondata representative of a 360-degree image (e.g., of camera-capturedreal-world scenery 104) by assigning display parameters (e.g.,positional parameters, orientational parameters, scaling parameters,time parameters, etc.) to commercial advertisements and/or to virtualobjects (e.g., virtual objects displaying commercial advertisements onthe outer surfaces of the virtual objects) in order to determine how andwhen the commercial advertisements and/or virtual objects are to bepresented within world 208. Examples of such display parameters will bedescribed below.

Tracking facility 406 may perform any suitable tracking operations forproper functionality of system 400. For example, as will be described inmore detail below, tracking facility 406 may receive user input (e.g.,from user 202) representative of dynamic changes user 202 wishes to maketo field of view 204, and may track a current position within world 208of field of view 204 based on the user input. Tracking facility 406 mayfurther track a gaze of user 202 based on the same user input and/orbased on additional user input such as eye-tracking user input detectedbased on where the eyes of user 202 are looking. In particular, trackingfacility 406 may detect that the gaze of user 202 is directed at acommercial advertisement included within field of view 204 and may trackan amount of time the gaze of user 202 is directed at the commercialadvertisement. Based on the amount of time that the gaze of user 202 isdetermined to be directed at the commercial advertisement, trackingfacility 406 may generate promotional effectiveness data 414, which maybe provided (e.g., by communication facility 402) to a billing systemconfigured to bill the commercial sponsor associated with the commercialadvertisement based on the promotional effectiveness data.

Virtual reality media content presentation facility 408 may perform anysuitable image presentation and/or rendering operations for properfunctionality of system 400. For example, as will be described in moredetail below, virtual reality media content presentation facility 408may provide field of view 204 of world 208 for display on a displayscreen of one of media player devices 300 (e.g., display screens 304 ofhead-mounted virtual reality device 302, display screen 308 of personalcomputer device 306, or display screen 316 of mobile device 314). Inproviding field of view 204 for display, virtual reality media contentpresentation facility 408 may continuously and dynamically change (i.e.,re-render and update) content presented within field of view 204 inresponse to user input provided by user 202 (e.g., as detected bytracking facility 406) while user 202 experiences world 208.Additionally, virtual reality media content presentation facility 408may present within field of view 204 one or more commercialadvertisements and/or virtual objects that have been integrated intoworld 208 (e.g., by advertisement integration facility 404). Examples offields of view of immersive virtual reality worlds will be describedbelow, including examples in which content of the immersive virtualreality world is presented that includes commercial advertisementsmapped onto the outer surfaces of the virtual objects.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary configuration 500 where system 400 is incommunication (i.e., via network 110 described above in relation toFIG. 1) with other systems to determine and use an effectiveness ofcontent (e.g., promotional effectiveness of commercial advertisements)in an immersive virtual reality world. In particular, configuration 500shows system 400 along with a sponsor system 502, a commercialadvertisement exchange service system 504, and a billing system 506communicatively coupled to one another and to system 400 via network110. As described above, system 400 may be implemented entirely bybackend system 108, entirely by one or more of media player devices 112,or by a combination of backend system 108, media player devices 112,and/or other suitable computing devices as may serve a particularimplementation.

Either or both of sponsor system 502 and commercial advertisementexchange service system 504 may be used by system 400 to access datarepresentative of commercial advertisements that system 400 may insertinto an immersive virtual reality world such as world 208. For example,in certain implementations, sponsor system 502 may include a computingsystem associated with a sponsor (e.g., a commercial sponsor such as acompany promoting goods and/or services, a nonprofit sponsor promoting acharitable cause, a public interest sponsor promoting political ideasand/or a particular candidate for a political office, etc.) that isproviding support for world 208 and/or a virtual reality media contentprogram with which world 208 is associated.

In return for providing the support, the sponsor associated with sponsorsystem 502 may use world 208 and/or the virtual reality media contentprogram associated with world 208 as an advertising platform forpromoting products and/or services that the sponsor offers. For example,the sponsor may provide commercial advertisements that can be presentedto users before, after, or while the users experience world 208. Incertain examples, the sponsor may provide commercial advertisements thatinclude virtual reality content configured to be presented within oralong with world 208, or commercial advertisements that include aseparate immersive virtual reality world that may be presented to user202 in place of world 208 before world 208 is presented (e.g., as apre-roll ad), after world 208 is presented (e.g., as a post-roll ad),and/or during a commercial break while world 208 is being presented(e.g., as a mid-roll ad). In other examples, the sponsor may providetwo-dimensional (“2D”) commercial advertisements such as still oranimated banner ads, videos (e.g., television-style commercial spots),and/or other 2D commercial advertisements that may serve a particularembodiment.

Commercial advertisement exchange service system 504 may be operated bya third party (e.g., a party that is neither the virtual reality mediacontent provider associated with system 400 nor the sponsor associatedwith sponsor system 502) to facilitate the pairing of sponsorsinterested in placing commercial advertisements and media contentproviders that control advertising platforms on which commercialadvertising campaigns may be effectively implemented (e.g., a mediacontent provider that controls virtual reality media content viewed bylarge numbers of people). For example, well-known companies like GOOGLE,YAHOO, AOL, and others may operate commercial advertisement exchangeservices to facilitate distribution of advertisements for integrationwith web content on the Internet. In some examples, commercialadvertisement exchange services may be largely or exclusively configuredto distribute traditional, 2D promotional material. For example,commercial advertisement exchange services may provide commercialadvertisements configured to be displayed as banner ads, pop-up ads,television-style commercial spots (e.g., to be played in associationwith on-demand video content), and/or other types of 2D promotionalmaterial commonly presented with web content. Because well-establishedcommercial advertisement exchange services may have a larger selectionand/or offer more convenient aggregated access to potential paidadvertising than may be possible from single individual sponsors, it maybe particularly advantageous for system 400 to access commercialadvertisements from such services.

In certain examples, the requesting of a commercial advertisement (e.g.,from either sponsor system 502 or commercial advertisement exchangeservice system 504) may be based on a characteristic of the user (e.g.,user 202) and/or of the camera-captured real-world scenery of theimmersive virtual reality world (e.g., world 208). For example, system400 may maintain (e.g., within storage facility 410) profile dataassociated with user 202. For instance, system 400 may maintaindemographic information for user 202 such as an age of user 202, agender of user 202, a race of user 202, etc. Additionally oralternatively, system 400 may maintain data related to personalinterests of user 202 (e.g., based on previous purchases of user 202) orother suitable data that may be used to request commercialadvertisements that will be relevant, effective, and/or of interest touser 202.

Similarly, system 400 may request the commercial advertisement based oncharacteristics of world 208. For example, if world 208 is associatedwith a sporting event, system 400 may request commercial advertisementsrelated to the sporting event (e.g., a youth football camp) or relatedto products that people may be likely to consume while experiencing thesporting event (e.g., soft drinks, snack foods, etc.). In otherexamples, system 400 may request a commercial advertisement from sponsorsystem 502, commercial advertisement exchange service system 504, and/orany other suitable source based on any characteristic or criterion thatmay serve a particular embodiment.

Billing system 506 may perform any operations related to billingsponsors that may serve a particular embodiment. For example, billingsystem 506 may automatically receive (e.g., from system 400) promotionaleffectiveness data for a particular commercial advertisement withrespect to user 202 based on an extent to which user 202 has viewedand/or interacted with the commercial advertisement (e.g., based on theamount of time tracked by system 400 that the gaze of user 202 has beendirected at the commercial advertisement). Examples of promotionaleffectiveness data that may be received will be described below. Basedon the received promotional effectiveness data, billing system 506 maydetermine how much to bill the sponsor associated with the commercialadvertisement for the placement of the commercial advertisement.

For example, if the promotional effectiveness data reveals that user 202has not directed his or her gaze at the commercial advertisement or hasdone so only for a very short time, billing system 506 may determinethat the sponsor should be billed a minimal amount for placement of thecommercial advertisement with respect to user 202. Conversely, if thepromotional effectiveness data reveals that user 202 has directed his orher gaze at the commercial advertisement for a longer period of time(e.g., perhaps long enough to trigger a supplemental action such as avideo to be played back), billing system 506 may determine that thesponsor should be billed a larger amount for placement of the commercialadvertisement with respect to user 202. This is because the promotionaleffectiveness of the commercial advertisement with respect to user 202may be considered greater and may be more valuable to the sponsor,justifying a higher price for the placement of the commercialadvertisement. Additionally, as will be described in more detail below,promotional effectiveness data of the commercial advertisement withrespect to a plurality of users (e.g., including user 202) may beaggregated and billing system 506 may bill the sponsor for placement ofthe commercial advertisement based on the aggregated promotionaleffectiveness data.

Billing system 506 may communicate the determined amount of money thatthe sponsor owes subsequent to the presentation of the commercialadvertisement to user 202 and in any way that serves a particularimplementation. For example, billing system 506 may automatically senddata representative of an amount owed to sponsor system 502 and/or tocommercial advertisement exchange service system 504 (e.g., over network110). In other examples, billing system 506 may facilitate billing to beperformed in other suitable ways, such as by providing information forbills to be printed and sent through traditional mailing and paperdocument delivery services. Billing system 506 may also facilitatereceiving payments from the sponsors for the commercial advertisementbills sent. For example, billing system 506 may accept electronicpayments sent by sponsor system 502 and/or commercial advertisementexchange service system 504, or may automatically withdraw funds from anaccount associated with the sponsor according to a prearranged agreementbetween the operator of billing system 506 and the sponsor.

Billing system 506 may be operated by or otherwise associated with thevirtual reality media content provider or with any other entity as mayserve a particular implementation. In some examples, billing system 506may be incorporated within or closely integrated with system 400, while,in other examples, billing system 506 may be operated by a third partyentity and may simply receive updates from system 400 related to thepromotional effectiveness data to facilitate billing system 506 inperforming billing and fee collection operations.

As described above, system 400 (e.g., advertisement integration facility404) may integrate a commercial advertisement (e.g., a commercialadvertisement accessed from sponsor system 502 or from commercialadvertisement exchange service system 504) into an immersive virtualreality world. In some examples, the integrating of the commercialadvertisement into the immersive virtual reality world may includeintegrating a virtual object into the immersive virtual reality worldand mapping the commercial advertisement onto an outer surface of thevirtual object such that the commercial advertisement is viewable as askin of the virtual object when the outer surface of the virtual objectis located within a field of view of the immersive virtual realityworld.

The virtual object may be any object that may serve a particularimplementation. For example, the virtual object may be a 3D virtualobject such as a context-specific virtual object that may add value tothe immersive virtual reality world beyond the promotional objective ofa commercial advertisement mapped onto the virtual object. For example,context-specific virtual objects may include complex objects that aresimilar to real objects within the immersive virtual reality worldand/or are otherwise selected to fit within the context of the immersivevirtual reality world. In the context of an immersive virtual realityworld including a beach scene, for example, context-specific virtualobjects may include virtual objects that may typically be seen in thesky (i.e., planes, parasailers, etc.), in the water (i.e., boats, animallife, etc.), or on the sand (i.e., sand castles, beach vendors, etc.) ina beach scene.

In other examples, the virtual object may be a 3D virtual object usedprimarily as a platform for inserting commercial advertisements into theimmersive virtual reality world. For example, a virtual object with asimple shape (e.g., a rectangle) and a flat surface may be configured tostand alone in the immersive virtual reality world similar to abillboard. Alternatively, a virtual object may be configured tointegrate with a real object (e.g., a camera-captured object that ispart of the real-world scenery) to look as if the virtual object iswrapped around the real object (e.g., a hot air balloon). These types ofvirtual object may include a width dimension and/or a height dimension,but may have little or no depth dimension (i.e., appearing to be verythin or even two-dimensional). However, these virtual objects may stillbe considered to be 3D virtual objects when they are inserted into theimmersive virtual reality world according to one or more displayparameters that may be assigned to any type of virtual object and usedto determine an appearance of the virtual object to user 202 as user 202experiences the immersive virtual reality world through the field ofview.

For example, the plurality of display parameters may include displayparameters such as a positional parameter determinative of a location ofthe virtual object within the immersive virtual reality world, anorientational parameter determinative of an orientation of the virtualobject within the immersive virtual reality world, and/or a scalingparameter determinative of an apparent size of the virtual object withinthe immersive virtual reality world. System 400 may configure at leastone of the assigned plurality of display parameters to dynamicallychange as user 202 experiences the immersive virtual reality world suchthat the virtual object appears to user 202 to move within the immersivevirtual reality world.

To illustrate, FIG. 6 shows exemplary display parameters assigned to anexemplary virtual object on which a commercial advertisement ispresented to integrate the virtual object into an exemplary immersivevirtual reality world. Specifically, FIG. 6 illustrates a model view 600of an immersive virtual reality world (e.g., similar to world 208).

As shown in FIG. 6, model view 600 includes an origin 602 correspondingto a coordinate system including three axes 604 (i.e., x-axis 604-x,y-axis 604-y, and z-axis 604-z) that may each cross through origin 602at orthogonal angles. Origin 602 may correspond to center point 210,described above in relation to FIG. 2, in that a renderable model ofimmersive virtual reality world may be maintained in relation to acenter point corresponding to a camera used to capture a 360-degreeimage upon which the immersive virtual reality world is based (e.g.,camera 102 of FIG. 1). As described above in relation to center point210, while user 202 is shown slightly above origin 602, it will beunderstood that, in some implementations, origin 602 may actually belocated at an eye level of user 202 rather than at the feet of user 202.

Model view 600 includes a renderable model of a virtual object 606(i.e., a cruise ship) that includes a commercial advertisement 608mapped onto the outer surface of the virtual object within a renderablemodel of the immersive virtual reality world. As used herein, a“renderable model” is a digital or mathematical representation of anobject (e.g., a virtual object such as virtual object 606, an immersivevirtual reality world such as world 208, etc.) that, when properlyrendered for display, may be presented (or presented in part) on adisplay screen such as on one of the display screens of one of mediaplayer devices 300 described above in reference to FIG. 3. Thus, while arendered view of the immersive virtual reality world may be presented touser 202 within a field of view, model view 600 illustrates how certainelements of the immersive virtual reality world such as virtual object606 may be modeled in the data representative of the immersive virtualreality world that system 400 may provide for display on the displayscreen. As such, while a renderable model of virtual object 606 maypersistently exist in a renderable model of the immersive virtualreality world, virtual object 606 may or may not be rendered and/orpresented on the display screen of the media player device 300 used byuser 202. For example, if user 202 provides user input to direct thefield of view toward content of the immersive virtual reality world thatdoes not include virtual object 606 (e.g., content behind user 202 withrespect to a direction user 202 is facing), the renderable model ofvirtual object 606 may continue to exist in the renderable model of theimmersive virtual reality world, but object 606 may not be renderedand/or presented within the field of view to be seen by user 202.Accordingly, while model view 600 of the immersive virtual reality worldmay be helpful for describing and illustrating the insertion of virtualobjects such as virtual object 606 into the immersive virtual realityworld, it will be understood that model view 600 merely represents avisual conceptualization of a particular embodiment of datarepresentative of the immersive virtual reality world, and that modelview 600 may not actually be rendered or presented to user 202 as such.

To integrate virtual object 606 into the immersive virtual realityworld, system 400 may assign virtual object 606 any suitable displayparameters that may be used to determine an appearance of virtual object606 to user 202 as user 202 experiences the immersive virtual realityworld through a field of view in a particular implementation. Forexample, as shown, virtual object 606 may be assigned one or morepositional parameters 610 determinative of a location of virtual object606 within the immersive virtual reality world (i.e., positionalparameter 610-x determinative of the location of virtual object 606 withrespect to x-axis 604-x, positional parameter 610-y determinative of thelocation of virtual object 606 with respect to y-axis 604-y, andpositional parameter 610-z determinative of the location of virtualobject 606 with respect to z-axis 604-z).

Virtual object 606 may further be assigned one or more orientationalparameters 612 determinative of a rotational orientation of virtualobject 606 within the immersive virtual reality world (i.e.,orientational parameter 612-x determinative of the orientation ofvirtual object 606 with respect to x-axis 604-x, orientational parameter612-y determinative of the orientation of virtual object 606 withrespect to y-axis 604-y, and orientational parameter 612-z determinativeof the orientation of virtual object 606 with respect to z-axis 604-z).

Virtual object 706 may also be assigned one or more scaling parametersdeterminative of an apparent size of virtual object 606 within theimmersive virtual reality world, as illustrated by scaling parameter614. In the implementation of FIG. 6, a single scaling parameter 614 isillustrated to show that virtual object 606 may be configured to scaleproportionally along each orthogonal dimension such that virtual object606 maintains a constant form rather than allowing one dimension ofvirtual object 606 to scale disproportionately from another dimension.However, it is noted that a plurality of scaling parameters 614 (e.g.,separate scaling parameters to scale virtual object 606 independentlywith respect to each of axes 604) may be used in certainimplementations.

Additionally, virtual object 606 may be assigned a time parameterdeterminative of a time period during which virtual object 606 isviewable within the immersive virtual reality world. While a timeparameter is not explicitly illustrated in FIG. 6, it will be understoodthat the immersive virtual reality world may change dynamically as timepasses such that certain virtual objects that are presented at one timemay not necessarily be presented at a later time. For example, if theimmersive virtual reality world is associated with a virtual realitymedia content program (e.g., a virtual reality movie or a virtualreality television show), a scene represented within the immersivevirtual reality world during a first time period of the virtual realitymedia content program may include virtual object 606, while a scenerepresented during a second time period later in the virtual realitymedia content program may no longer include virtual object 606.

In some examples, at least one of the display parameters assigned tovirtual object 606 (e.g., positional parameters 610, orientationalparameters 612, and/or scale parameter 614) may dynamically change astime in the immersive virtual reality world passes and user 202experiences the immersive virtual reality world. As such, virtual object606 may appear to user 202 to move or change within the immersivevirtual reality world. For example, if one or more positional parameters610 assigned to virtual object 606 dynamically change as user 202experiences the immersive virtual reality world, the location of virtualobject 606 within the immersive virtual reality world (e.g., in relationto other content of the immersive virtual reality world) may appear tochange over time. Specifically, virtual object 606 may appear toapproach user 202, recede from user 202, move across the immersivevirtual reality world, or otherwise change locations within theimmersive virtual reality world.

Similarly, if one or more orientational parameters 612 assigned tovirtual object 606 dynamically change as user 202 experiences theimmersive virtual reality world, the rotational orientation of virtualobject 606 within the immersive virtual reality world (e.g., in relationto other content of the immersive virtual reality world) may appear tochange over time. For example, virtual object 606 may appear togradually rotate such that virtual object 606 may be viewed frommultiple perspectives, virtual object 606 may appear to spin orotherwise rotate in response to user input or events occurring in theimmersive virtual reality world (e.g., the cruise ship of virtual object606 may appear to turn and change direction as the cruise shipapproaches a dock or a shoreline within the immersive virtual realityworld).

Additionally, if scale parameter 614 assigned to virtual object 606dynamically changes as user 202 experiences the immersive virtualreality world, the apparent size of virtual object 606 within theimmersive virtual reality world (e.g., in relation to other content ofthe immersive virtual reality world) may appear to change over time. Forexample, virtual object 606 may appear to grow or shrink based on userinput and/or events occurring within the immersive virtual realityworld.

Regardless of the display parameters that are assigned to virtual object606 and how virtual object 606 is displayed within the immersive virtualreality world, commercial advertisement 608 may be mapped onto an outersurface of virtual object 606 (e.g., on the hull of the cruise ship)such that commercial advertisement 608 is viewable as a skin (e.g., atexture) of virtual object 606 when the outer surface of virtual object606 is located within the field of view of the immersive virtual realityworld. For example, commercial advertisement 608 may be viewable by user202 as a skin of virtual object 606 when user 202 directs the field ofview in the general direction of virtual object 606 within the immersivevirtual reality world and when virtual object 606 is positioned (i.e.,according to positional parameters 610), oriented (i.e., according toorientational parameters 612), and scaled (i.e., according to scalingparameters 614) such that the outer surface of virtual object 606 thatincludes commercial advertisement 608 (i.e., the forward hull of theship) is visible to user 202 within the field of view. Advantageously,commercial advertisement 608 may be changed, updated, streamed, and/orotherwise presented as a skin or texture of virtual object 606 whethercommercial advertisement 608 includes a still image, a video image, orany another suitable advertising content.

Commercial advertisement 608 may be representative of any type ofcommercial advertisement including any still image, animated image, orvideo content associated with promotional efforts of a sponsor. Forexample, commercial advertisement 608 may be requested and/or accessedfrom a commercial advertisement exchange service (e.g., by way ofcommercial advertisement exchange service system 504) based on one ormore characteristics of user 202 and/or the immersive virtual realityworld, as described above. In some examples, commercial advertisement608 may be a banner advertisement (e.g., a still image or animated imagethat includes purely visual content). In other examples, commercialadvertisement 608 may include a video presentation (e.g., a video suchas a television-style commercial spot) that includes audio and visualcontent.

Commercial advertisement 608 may be interactive such that commercialadvertisement 608 may present a banner advertisement under normalcircumstances but may begin a supplemental action such as a videopresentation under special circumstances such as when system 400 detectsthat a gaze of user 202 is directed at commercial advertisement 608 fora predetermined length of time. Similarly, commercial advertisement 608may be interactive such that user 202 may interact with commercialadvertisement 608 to get more information about a product, service, orother promotional objective associated with commercial advertisement608. For example, system 400 may present additional informationassociated with the promotional objective of commercial advertisement608 such as a location where a product associated with commercialadvertisement 608 can be purchased, a phone number whereby a serviceassociated with commercial advertisement 608 may be obtained, or awebsite whereby any promotional objective associated with commercialadvertisement 608 can be researched or accessed. In certain examples,system 400 may present (e.g., within a full screen view or on the outersurface of object 606 where commercial advertisement 608 is displayed) asimplified or full web browser by which a user 202 may actively researchand/or purchase items or services associated with the promotionalobjective of commercial advertisement 608.

More particularly, as shown in FIG. 6, commercial advertisement 608 mayinclude a commercial advertisement for a commercial cruise line called“Sunshine Cruises.” As such, commercial advertisement 608 may include alogo identifying the cruise line and any pictorial or animated graphicsthat may serve a particular implementation to further facilitatepromotion of the cruise line. An embedded video presentation or link toa website for Sunshine Cruises may additionally be embedded within datarepresentative of commercial advertisement 608 to be activated by system400 when particular circumstances arise (e.g., user 202 selectscommercial advertisement 608 or is detected to have directed his or hergaze to commercial advertisement 608 as will be described below). Asdescribed above in relation to FIG. 5, system 400 may access commercialadvertisement 608 for Sunshine Cruises by directly receiving datarepresentative of commercial advertisement 608 from sponsor system 502,which may be, in this example, a server system associated with theSunshine Cruises cruise line company. Additionally or alternatively,system 400 may request, from third-party commercial advertisementexchange service system 504, a commercial advertisement associated withcruises or vacations or the like based on maintained profile dataindicating that user 202 has purchased cruises in the past, a detectionthat the immersive virtual reality world is a tropical world similar todestinations to which Sunshine Cruises sails, etc. In response,commercial advertisement exchange service system 504 may providecommercial advertisement 608, which the Sunshine Cruises cruise lineagrees to pay to promote within world 208.

Based on renderable models of the immersive virtual reality world andone or more virtual objects included within the immersive virtualreality world, system 400 may provide a field of view of the immersivevirtual reality world for display on a media player device such as thedevices described above in relation to FIG. 3. The user may experiencethe immersive virtual reality world through the field of view and, whileexperiencing the immersive virtual reality world, may choose to directthe field of view and his or her gaze at a virtual object such asvirtual object 606 and/or a commercial advertisement such as commercialadvertisement 608.

To illustrate, FIGS. 7-8 show an exemplary field of view of an immersivevirtual reality world 700 (“world 700”) into which virtual object 606may be integrated. For example, world 700 may be the immersive virtualreality world of model view 600 (i.e., the immersive virtual realityworld into which the renderable models included within model view 600are integrated). As shown, user 202 may experience world 700 by viewingcontent 702 of world 700 through a field of view 704. Within field ofview 704, content 702 may include camera-captured real-world scenerydepicting a tropical beach scene. User 202 may have entered user inputto dynamically direct field of view 704 to include content showing aperspective looking down the beach that includes one or more realobjects 706 (i.e., camera-captured objects such as a beach shack andpalm trees that were present in the real-world scenery rather thanintegrated into world 700 later) as well as one or more virtual objectssuch as virtual object 606 (i.e., the cruise ship in the water). Asshown within field of view 704, virtual object 606 is displayed withinworld 700 according to display parameters such as positional parameters610, orientational parameters 612, and scaling parameters 614, asdescribed above in relation to FIG. 6. Additionally, as described above,commercial advertisement 608 is mapped onto the outer surface of virtualobject 606 to be viewed by user 202 as user 202 experiences world 700.

As explained above, system 400 (e.g., tracking facility 406) may detectthat a gaze of user 202 is directed at commercial advertisement 608while commercial advertisement 608 is included within field of view 704.System 400 may perform this detection in any way that serves aparticular implementation. For example, system 400 may detect that thegaze of the user is directed at commercial advertisement 608 by trackinga gaze reticle persistently centered within field of view 704 withrespect to at least one of a vertical dimension of field of view 704 anda horizontal dimension of field of view 704 and then determining, basedon the tracking of the gaze reticle, that the gaze reticle is directedat commercial advertisement 608. As used herein, a gaze reticle may be aparticular area of field of view 704 (e.g., a small area in thehorizontal and/or vertical center of field of view 704) where the gazeof user 202 may often reside. For example, while a user may view alarger portion of field of view 704 than just the gaze reticle in thecenter and/or may look at other portions of field of view 704 other thanthe gaze reticle by turning his or her eyes without moving field of view704 (e.g., without turning his or her head), system 400 may beconfigured to assume that the user's gaze is generally focused at thegaze reticle in the center of field of view 704.

Based on the tracking of the gaze reticle, system 400 may detect thatthe gaze reticle is directed at commercial advertisement 608 and mayfurther track an amount of time that the gaze reticle is directed atcommercial advertisement 608. Accordingly, based on the detection thatthe gaze reticle remains persistently directed at commercialadvertisement 608 for the tracked amount of time, system 400 may assumethat the actual gaze of user 202 has been similarly directed atcommercial advertisement 608 for the tracked amount of time. As aresult, system 400 may generate promotional effectiveness data for thecommercial advertisement with respect to user 202 based on the trackedamount of time, trigger a supplemental action, or perform anothersuitable operation.

To illustrate, FIG. 7 shows a gaze reticle 708 within field of view 704of world 700. As shown, gaze reticle 708 is an area of field of view 704that is approximately centered both horizontally and vertically withinfield of view 704. In certain examples, gaze reticle 708 may be centeredeither horizontally or vertically within field of view 704 but not both,or may be offset from the center of field of view 704 with respect toboth the horizontal and the vertical dimension of field of view 704 asmay serve a particular embodiment.

Gaze reticle 708 may be any size that may serve a particularimplementation. For example, gaze reticle 708 may be very small,requiring user 202 to direct field of view 704 very squarely atcommercial advertisement 608 before system 400 will detect that the gazeof user 202 is directed at commercial advertisement 608 and begintracking the amount of time that the gaze of user 202 is directed atcommercial advertisement 608. As such, any promotional effectivenessdata generated for commercial advertisement 608 may reflect a relativelyconservative assessment of how long user 202 spent looking at commercialadvertisement 608, and any supplemental action of commercialadvertisement 608 triggered by the gaze of user 202 may be relativelyunlikely to be triggered inadvertently. Conversely, in other examples,gaze reticle 708 may be relatively large (e.g., up to the size of theentire field of view 704), resulting in promotional effectiveness datathat reflects a more generous assessment of the amount of time the gazeof user 202 was directed at commercial advertisement 608 and/orresulting in a supplemental action from commercial advertisement 608that is much easier for user 202 to trigger. In some embodiments thesize of gaze reticle 708 may change based on what content is includedwithin field of view 704 or based on different agreements with differentsponsors as different commercial advertisements are included withinfield of view 704. Gaze reticle 708 may be visible or invisible to user202 as user 202 experiences world 700.

As another example of detecting that the gaze of user 202 is directed atcommercial advertisement 608 while commercial advertisement 608 isincluded within field of view 704, system 400 may track eye movements ofuser 202 as user 202 experiences world 700 and may determine, based onthe tracking of the eye movements, that user 202 is looking atcommercial advertisement 608. For example, system 400 may detect andtrack an angle at which the retinas of user 202 are directed at variouspoints in time to precisely determine which area of field of view 704user 202 is viewing at the various points in time.

To illustrate, an eye-tracking area 710 is shown in FIG. 7 to representan area of field of view 704 in which user 202 is actually detected tobe looking based on the eye tracking. Unlike gaze reticle 708,eye-tracking area 710 may dynamically change based on eye movements ofuser 202 (e.g., the angle at which the retinas of user 202 are directed)even when field of view 704 remains stationary. While in many exampleseye-tracking area 710 may tend to be close to gaze reticle 708 in thecenter of field of view 704, eye-tracking area 710 may be located withinany part of field of view 704 that user 202 may see. As with gazereticle 708, an indicator associated with eye-tracking area 710 may bedisplayed visibly within field of view 704 or eye-tracking area 710 maybe invisible as may serve a particular implementation.

To illustrate how gaze reticle 708 and eye-tracking area may be used bysystem 400 to detect that the gaze of user 202 is directed at commercialadvertisement 608, FIG. 7 shows that gaze reticle 708 is relativelylarge and is at least partially overlapping with commercialadvertisement 608. As such, in some embodiments, system 400 may detect,based on the relative positioning of gaze reticle 708 and commercialadvertisement 608, that the gaze of user 202 is directed at commercialadvertisement 608. As a result of the detecting, system 400 may begintracking the amount of time that the gaze of the user is directed atcommercial advertisement 608 by tracking the amount of time that gazereticle remains at least partially overlapping with commercialadvertisement 608. In other embodiments, system 400 may only detect thatthe gaze of user 202 is directed at commercial advertisement 608 whencommercial advertisement 608 is completely or mostly overlapping withgaze reticle 708 (as opposed to just partially overlapping as depictedin FIG. 7).

FIG. 7 shows that eye-tracking area 710 is relatively small (i.e.,smaller than gaze reticle 708) and is not directed at commercialadvertisement 608, but, rather, is directed at a real object 706 (i.e.,the beach shack). As such, an implementation employing eye-tracking area710 in addition to or as an alternative to gaze reticle 708 may detectthat the gaze of user 202 is not currently directed at commercialadvertisement 608, despite the relatively close proximity of commercialadvertisement 608 to the center of field of view 704.

In contrast, FIG. 8 shows an example where virtual object 606 isslightly further away and/or less proximate to the center of field ofview 704. In this example, an implementation relying on gaze reticle 708may detect that the gaze of user 202 is not currently directed atcommercial advertisement 608 because commercial advertisement 608 is notoverlapping with gaze reticle 708 at all. However, an implementationthat employs eye-tracking may detect that the gaze of user 202 iscurrently directed at commercial advertisement 608 based on eye-trackingarea 710, which is shown to be directly aligned with commercialadvertisement 608.

Regardless of how the gaze of user 202 is tracked (e.g., by gaze reticle708, by eye-tracking area 710, or by a combination of both or anothersuitable method), once system 400 determines that the gaze of user 202is directed at commercial advertisement 608, system 400 may track anamount of time that the gaze of user 202 is directed at commercialadvertisement 608 (e.g., before the gaze of user 202 moves, beforecommercial advertisement 608 moves, etc.).

Based on the tracked amount of time, system 400 may perform asupplemental action associated with commercial advertisement 608. Forexample, commercial advertisement 608 may appear to be a still image(e.g., the “Sunshine Cruises” logo shown in FIG. 8) until user 202directs his or her gaze to the logo for a predetermined amount of time(e.g., 2-3 seconds). At this point, system 400 may perform asupplemental action such as playing back a video (i.e., includingaudiovisual content) associated with commercial advertisement 608 onobject 606 where the logo of commercial advertisement 608 appearedbefore. In other examples, the supplemental action may include darkeningout a portion of world 700 or temporarily magnifying commercialadvertisement 608 to make commercial advertisement 608 easier for user202 to see. The supplemental action may also include presenting an audioclip or an animation (e.g., a video without accompanying audio). Virtualobject 606 may also be involved with the supplemental action, ratherthan commercial advertisement 608 alone. For example, the cruise shipmay sail more closely to user 202 or may sound its foghorn.Additionally, other suitable supplemental actions (e.g., othersupplemental action disclosed herein) may be performed or anycombination of supplemental actions may be performed as may serve aparticular embodiment.

In addition or as an alternative to determining that supplementalactions are triggered, system 400 may use the tracked amount of timethat user 202 has been detected to direct his or her gaze at commercialadvertisement 608 to generate and/or report (e.g., to billing system 506described above in relation to FIG. 5) content effectiveness analyticssuch as promotional effectiveness data. System 400 may generate and/orreport promotional effectiveness data in any way and/or at any time thatmay serve a particular embodiment.

For example, system 400 may generate promotional effectiveness data forcommercial advertisement 608 that includes data indicative of a numberof separate instances that the gaze of user 202 has been directed atcommercial advertisement 608. System 400 may also generate promotionaleffectiveness data for commercial advertisement 608 that includes dataindicative of a total amount of time (e.g., measured in milliseconds,seconds, or another suitable unit of time) that the gaze of user 202 hasbeen directed at the commercial advertisement in one instance or as anaggregation of the separate instances that the gaze of user 202 has beendirected at commercial advertisement 608. Moreover, system 400 maygenerate promotional effectiveness data for commercial advertisement 608that includes data indicative of whether a supplemental actionassociated with commercial advertisement 608 has been triggered based onthe amount of time that the gaze of user 202 is directed at commercialadvertisement 608 and/or that indicates which supplemental action (oractions) has (or have) been triggered.

Once the promotional effectiveness data has been generated, system 400may report the promotional effectiveness data at any time and/or in anyway that may suit a particular implementation. For example, in certainimplementations, promotional effectiveness data may be reportedimmediately when there is new data to report. Specifically, each time auser's gaze is directed at a commercial advertisement, the time that theuser directs his or her gaze at the commercial advertisement may bedetermined (e.g., in milliseconds, seconds, etc.) and immediatelyreported (e.g., once the gaze of the user leaves the commercialadvertisement). Alternatively, in other implementations, promotionaleffectiveness data may be accumulated (e.g., stored within storagefacility 410) within system 400 and reported (e.g., in an aggregatedbatch of promotional effectiveness data) at a later time. For example,promotional effectiveness data may be reported regularly on a particulartime schedule (e.g., once a minute) or may be reported after a virtualreality media content program has terminated. In examples where batterylife of a media player device is of particular concern, it may beespecially advantageous to accumulate and send aggregated batches ofpromotional effectiveness data.

To illustrate promotional effectiveness data that may be generatedand/or reported, FIG. 9 shows exemplary aggregated promotionaleffectiveness data 900 (“data 900”) for an exemplary commercialadvertisement 902 (i.e. “Commercial Advertisement 1”) with respect to anexemplary plurality of users. While system 400 is described below asgenerating, aggregating, and reporting data 900 for the plurality ofusers with respect to commercial advertisement 902, it will beunderstood that one or more other systems may generate, aggregate,and/or report data 900 as may serve a particular embodiment. Forexample, system 400 may simply generate and report promotionaleffectiveness data with respect to individual users (e.g., as theindividual users experience the immersive virtual reality world), and adifferent system or device (e.g., billing system 506) may aggregateand/or present data 900.

In certain examples, data 900 may be presented to an operator of system400 or billing system 506, or to a sponsor associated with sponsorsystem 502. For example, system 400, billing system 506, and/or sponsorsystem 502 may present a user interface (e.g., a graphical userinterface) in which data 900 may be presented to a user of therespective system. Moreover, data 900 may be presented in auser-friendly way that allows data 900 to conveniently be explored,analyzed, and/or manipulated. For example, the user interface maydisplay visual indications of data 900 (e.g., bar graphs, etc.) and mayallow a user to sort, filter, organize, hide, expand, and/or otherwisemanipulate data 900 in any way that may serve to facilitate the user ingathering, using, and/or understanding the promotional effectivenessdata in a particular implementation.

Aggregated promotional effectiveness data such as data 900 may provideinsight and/or otherwise facilitate the billing system in determining aproper amount to charge a sponsor for placement of one or morecommercial advertisements more effectively than non-aggregatedpromotional effectiveness data (e.g., data associated with only oneuser). For example, aggregated promotional effectiveness data may bemore useful in revealing how effective a particular commercialadvertisement is to a particular target demographic group.

As shown in FIG. 9, data 900 may include summary data 904, which mayinclude data related to the general promotional effectiveness ofcommercial advertisement 902 for all of the users within the pluralityof users whose promotional effectiveness data is aggregated into data900. For example, summary data 904 may include prominence data 906 forcommercial advertisement 902, view data 908 for commercial advertisement902, supplemental action data 910 for commercial advertisement 902,and/or any other data that may help summarize the promotionaleffectiveness of commercial advertisement 902 for the plurality of usersin a particular implementation.

Prominence data 906 may include data representative of a display size ofcommercial advertisement 902 (e.g., expressed in apparent size in theimmersive virtual reality world, in degrees of the immersive virtualreality world covered by commercial advertisement 902, etc.). Forexample, a commercial advertisement with a larger display size may beconsidered more prominent (i.e., more visible to users and thus morevaluable to sponsors) than a commercial advertisement with a smallerdisplay size. Similarly, prominence data 906 may include datarepresentative of a prominence zone of the immersive virtual realityworld in which the commercial advertisement may be located. For example,as shown, data 900 may indicate that commercial advertisement 902 islocated in a prominence zone 2. As such, commercial advertisement 902may be considered less prominent (i.e., less likely to be viewed) than acommercial advertisement in a prominence zone 1 (e.g., a zone whereusers may tend to look very often) but more prominent than a commercialadvertisement in a prominence zone 3 (e.g., a zone where users may tendto look very rarely). Prominence zones will be described in more detailbelow.

View data 908 may include data representative of total views (e.g., allof the instances where any of the plurality of users has viewedcommercial advertisement 902), unique views (e.g., the number of usersin the plurality of users that have viewed commercial advertisement 902at least once), average time per view (e.g., the average number ofseconds or milliseconds that each of the total views lasted), and/or anyother data related to the users' viewing of commercial advertisement 902that may serve a particular implementation. Because each separateinstance of a view of commercial advertisement 902 may be determined(e.g., down to a precise number of milliseconds) and recorded, view data908 may also indicate how many views of the total views fall within oneor more time duration categories. For example, as shown, the number ofviews lasting at least 1 second, at least 2 seconds, at least 3 seconds,at least 5 seconds, at least 10 seconds, at least 20 seconds, at least30 seconds, and at least 60 seconds may be included within view data908.

Supplemental action data 910 may include data representative of totalsupplemental actions (e.g., all the supplemental actions of any typethat were triggered by the plurality of users), unique supplementalactions (e.g., the number of users in the plurality of users that viewedat least one supplemental action of any type), repeat supplementalactions (e.g., the number of users in the plurality of users that viewedat least one supplemental action repeatedly), and/or any other datarelated to the users' triggering of supplemental actions for commercialadvertisement 902 that may serve a particular implementation. Becausethere may be different types of supplemental actions associated with asingle commercial advertisement, supplemental action data 910 mayfurther include data representative of which supplemental actions hasbeen triggered and/or how many times each supplemental action has beentriggered. For example, commercial advertisement 902 may appear to cometo life (i.e., display a short animation) if a user's gaze is directedat commercial advertisement 902 for at least 3 seconds, and may presenta full video if the user's gaze continues to be directed at commercialadvertisement 902 for a full 10 seconds.

As illustrated by data 900, system 400 may aggregate generatedpromotional effectiveness data for a commercial advertisement withrespect to one user with generated promotional effectiveness data forthe commercial advertisement with respect to a plurality of other usersto generate aggregated promotional effectiveness data for the commercialadvertisement with respect to a plurality of users experiencing aparticular immersive virtual reality world. Additionally, as describedabove, system 400 may determine, access, or manage profile data relatedto one or more of the plurality of users that may experience theimmersive virtual reality world. As such, system 400 may incorporateinto aggregated promotional effectiveness data (i.e., data 900) profiledata related to the plurality of users experiencing the immersivevirtual reality world.

For example, as shown in FIG. 9, data 900 may include specific profiledata related one or more promotional effectiveness data categories 912(e.g., categories 912-1, 912-2, etc.) such as promotional effectivenessdata categories summarized in summary data 904 (e.g., “Total Views,”“Unique Views,” etc.) and/or other promotional effectiveness datacategories that may serve a particular implementation. In some examples,profile data 914 (e.g., gender data 914-1, age profile data 914-2,device profile data 914-3, personal interest profile data 914-4, etc.)included within one of categories 912 may be presented within agraphical user interface as described above by hiding some of theprofile data 914 by default and allowing an operator using the graphicaluser interface to expand various categories 912 and/or profile data 914to explore and analyze the data in any way the operator chooses. Eachcategory 912 may include any profile data that may serve to reveal howpromotionally effective commercial advertisement 902 may be with eithera broad demographic group (e.g., males, etc.), or a more specificdemographic group (e.g., females ages 18-54 using iOS or Android deviceswho have previously purchased a cruise vacation, etc.).

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary configuration 1000 in which anexemplary virtual reality media backend system 1002 (“backend system1002”) and an exemplary media player device 1004 operate to insertadditional content (e.g., a virtual object, a commercial advertisement,etc.) into an immersive virtual reality world. Backend system 1002 andmedia player device 1004 may be the same or similar to other systemsand/or devices described herein, and, as such, may each be implementedby an end-user device, by a server device that streams media content toan end-user device, or distributed across an end-user device and aserver device. For example, backend system 1002 may be the same orsimilar to backend system 108, and media player device 1004 may be thesame or similar to any of media player devices 112 or 300. Additionally,backend system 1002 and/or media player device 1004 may implement,individually or together in combination, some or all of thefunctionality of system 400 described above.

As shown, backend system 1002 and media player device 1004 may becommunicatively coupled via a network 1006, which may use variousnetwork components and protocols to facilitate communication betweenbackend system 1002 and media player device 1004 in the same or asimilar fashion as described above in relation to network 110. Inparticular, as will be described below, network 1006 may carry datarepresentative of a virtual reality media program request 1008 (“request1008”), a virtual reality media program metadata file 1010 (“metadatafile 1010”), a video/audio stream 1012, and any other data that may betransferred between backend system 1002 and media player device 1004.

As illustrated by configuration 1000, in operation, media player device1004 may transmit request 1008 to backend system 1002 over network 1006.For example, media player device 1004 may transmit request 1008 (e.g., aHypertext Transfer Protocol (“HTTP”) call) based on user input from auser of media player device 1004. Specifically, media player device 1004may provide the user one or more options to request access to virtualreality media content such as by providing a selection of links (e.g.,HTTP links) to a variety of virtual reality media content (e.g.,different immersive virtual reality worlds). In response to user inputto access the virtual reality media content of a particular immersivevirtual reality world (e.g., a user selection of a particular link fromthe selection of links), media player device 1004 may transmit request1008 to backend system 1002. Request 1008 may include a command (e.g.,associated with an HTTP call) that causes backend system 1002 totransmit data representative of metadata file 1010 and/or video/audiostream 1012 to media player device 1004 by way of network 1006.

As one example, request 1008 may include a command that causes backendsystem 1002 to transmit data representative of metadata file 1010 tomedia player device 1004, and metadata file 1010 may include datarepresentative of one or more additional commands that cause mediaplayer device 1004 to perform other operations including requesting,receiving, and/or presenting video/audio stream 1012. For instance,prior to presenting the immersive virtual reality world for the user toexperience, additional commands in metadata file 1010 may cause mediaplayer device 1004 to request (e.g., from sponsor system 502 orcommercial advertisement exchange service system 504 of FIG. 5),receive, and/or present a pre-roll commercial advertisement video to theuser based upon keywords and/or tags included in metadata file 1010.After the commercial advertisement video has been presented, metadatafile 1010 may include additional commands to cause media player device1004 to request, receive, and/or present a virtual reality media programbased on video/audio stream 1012 and other data within metadata file1010, as described below. Additionally or alternatively, metadata file1010 may include additional commands to cause media player device 1004to request, receive, and/or present one or more mid-roll commercialadvertisement videos during the presentation of the virtual realitymedia program (e.g., during a commercial break), or one or morepost-roll commercial advertisement videos after the presentation of thevirtual reality media program.

As another example, metadata file 1010 may include metadata related toone or more virtual objects (e.g., display parameters for the virtualobjects, keywords or tags for commercial advertisements that may beassociated with the virtual objects, etc.) that may be located withinthe immersive virtual reality world selected by the user. Video/audiostream 1012 may include data representative of content of the immersivevirtual reality world other than virtual objects inserted into the worldbased on, for example, data included within metadata file 1010. Forexample, video/audio stream 1012 may include video and/or audio datarelated to real-world scenery content (e.g., a 360-degree image capturedby a camera such as camera 102) of the immersive virtual reality world.

Media player device 1004 may receive, analyze, and/or otherwise usevideo/audio stream 1012 to present the immersive virtual reality worldwithin a field of view for the user. In certain examples, virtualobjects, commercial advertisements, and/or other additional content maybe inserted into the immersive virtual reality world at static locationsat which users will likely see the virtual objects and/or commercialadvertisements, but where the virtual objects and/or commercialadvertisements may not be overly intrusive or distracting to the overallvirtual reality experience of the user. For example, a virtual realitymedia content provider may track where various users experiencing animmersive virtual reality world tend to look and create a focus map(e.g., which may appear similar to a heat map) of the immersive virtualreality world representative of where user focus tends to be directed.Focus maps may also facilitate dividing the immersive virtual realityworld into a plurality of prominence zones within which virtual objectsand/or commercial advertisements may be located. For example, asmentioned above, one prominence zone may be in an area of the immersivevirtual reality world that tends to be viewed by users often and/or forlong periods of time, and may thus be a more prominent (e.g., andtherefore valuable) location for a commercial advertisement to bedisplayed. In contrast, other prominence zones may include areas of theimmersive virtual reality world that tend to be viewed by users lessoften and/or for shorter periods of time, and may thus be consideredless prominent (e.g., and therefore less valuable) locations forcommercial advertisements to be displayed.

For example, based on the focus map, the virtual reality media contentprovider may determine that placing a virtual object at a particularlocation and/or within a particular prominence zone (e.g., a location orprominence zone slightly below the user's line of sight if the user islooking straight ahead) will likely result in users seeing the virtualobject and/or the commercial advertisement while not being overlydistracted by the virtual object and/or the commercial advertisement. Inthese examples, data related to the virtual objects and/or commercialadvertisements may be static (e.g., programmed into software on mediaplayer device 1004, etc.) and may not utilize specific metadata such asmay be included within metadata file 1010.

In other examples, metadata file 1010 may include metadata related tovirtual objects that are dynamic and/or particular to the immersivevirtual reality world, and that may be inserted at particular times andwith particular display parameters into the immersive virtual realityworld. To illustrate, FIG. 11 shows additional details for metadata file1010 described above in relation to FIG. 10. As shown, metadata file1010 may include data 1102 (e.g., textual data, metadata tags, markupcode or other instructions, etc.) that may include metadata related toone or more virtual objects and/or commercial advertisements that havebeen or are to be inserted in the immersive virtual reality world. Forexample, as shown, metadata file 1010 may include data 1102representative of virtual object metadata 1104. For example, as shown,virtual object metadata 1104 may include virtual object metadata 1104-1,which may describe display parameters for a first virtual object thatmay be associated with (e.g., acting primarily as a platform for) aparticular commercial advertisement. Similarly, virtual object metadata1104 may include virtual object metadata 1104-2 through 1104-n, whichmay described display parameters for other virtual objects that may beassociated with other commercial advertisements. Along with virtualobject metadata 1104, data 1102 may also include any other data (e.g.,initialization data, metadata, advertising data, etc.) that backendsystem 1002 may transmit to media player device 1004 as may suit aparticular implementation.

FIG. 11 further illustrates exemplary metadata that may be includedwithin virtual object metadata 1104 (i.e., for the nth virtual object(“Virtual Object N”) associated with virtual object metadata 1104-n).Specifically, as shown, virtual object metadata 1104-n may include atime parameter 1106 that may indicate a time at which Virtual Object Nmay be displayed within the immersive virtual reality world. Forexample, time parameter 1106 indicates that Virtual Object N may bedisplayed within the immersive virtual reality world beginning 3 minutesand 17 seconds into the presentation of the immersive virtual realityworld and ending 4 minutes and 2 seconds into the presentation of theimmersive virtual reality world.

Virtual object metadata 1104-n may further include display parametersrelated to Virtual Object N such as a positional parameter 1108, anorientation parameter 1110, and a scale parameter 1112. These displayparameters may be related to the display parameters described above inrelation to virtual object 606 in FIG. 6. For example, positionalparameter 1108 may represent positional parameters 610 shown in FIG. 6,orientation parameter 1110 may represent orientational parameters 612shown in FIG. 6, and scale parameter 1112 may represent scalingparameter 614 shown in FIG. 6.

As shown, positional parameter 1108 may include both x and y components,which may be expressed in degrees in relation to axes of the immersivevirtual reality world (e.g., axes 604 in FIG. 6). While only x and ycomponents are illustrated, it will be understood that fewer oradditional components (e.g., including a z component) may be used todescribe the position of Virtual Object N in particular implementations.

Moreover, orientation parameter 1110 may include x, y, and z componentsalso expressed in degrees in relation to axes of the immersive virtualreality world. Fewer or additional components may be used to describethe orientation of Virtual Object N in particular implementations.

Similarly, as shown, scale parameter 1112 may include x, y, and zcomponents. As described above in relation to scaling parameter 614, onecomponent (e.g., the x component) may be configurable while othercomponents (e.g., the y component and the z component) may be fixedbased on the configurable component such that the relative proportionsof Virtual Object N may remain constant. In certain examples, each ofthe components of scale parameter 1112 may be independentlyconfigurable. Additionally, fewer or additional components may be usedto describe the scale of Virtual Object N in particular implementations.

Media player device 1004 may receive metadata file 1010 in response torequest 1008 and may use metadata file 1010 to present a user-selectedimmersive virtual reality world for experiencing by a user. Media playerdevice 1004 may use the data included in metadata file 1010 in anysuitable way to present the immersive virtual reality world. Forexample, media player device 1004 may use virtual object metadata todetermine one or more operations to perform to access and map acommercial advertisement onto a virtual object. For instance, mediaplayer device 1004 may use virtual object metadata to determine time anddisplay parameters for a virtual object, access a commercialadvertisement that matches parameters of the virtual object, and map thecommercial advertisement to the virtual object in accordance with theparameters such that the commercial advertisement is viewable within theimmersive virtual reality world at an appropriate time and location.

In certain examples, metadata file 1010 may include data indicating asource from which to access the commercial advertisement (e.g., dataindicating an HTTP call to be made by media player device 1004 to accessthe commercial advertisement from a source at a particular URL address)and/or data indicating one or more parameters (e.g., keywords, tags,etc.) that may be used to generate a request for a commercialadvertisement having certain attributes (e.g., promotional contentsuitable for and/or related to certain demographic groups and/or virtualreality content).

FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary method 1200 of determining aneffectiveness of content in an immersive virtual reality world. Inparticular, method 1200 illustrates an exemplary way to determinepromotional effectiveness of commercial advertisements in the immersivevirtual reality world. While FIG. 12 illustrates exemplary operationsaccording to one embodiment, other embodiments may omit, add to,reorder, and/or modify any of the operations shown in FIG. 12. One ormore of the operations shown in FIG. 12 may be performed by system 400and/or any implementation thereof.

In operation 1202, a virtual reality media system may provide, fordisplay on a display screen of a media player device associated with auser, a field of view of an immersive virtual reality world. In someexamples, the immersive virtual reality world may be generated from andmay include camera-captured real-world scenery. Additionally, the fieldof view may include content of the immersive virtual reality world andmay dynamically change in response to user input provided by the user asthe user experiences the immersive virtual reality world. Operation 1202may be performed in any of the ways described herein.

In operation 1204, the virtual reality media system may integrate acommercial advertisement into the immersive virtual reality world.Operation 1204 may be performed in any of the ways described herein.

In operation 1206, the virtual reality media system may detect that agaze of the user is directed at the commercial advertisement while thecommercial advertisement is included within the field of view. Operation1206 may be performed in any of the ways described herein.

In operation 1208, the virtual reality media system may track an amountof time that the gaze of the user is directed at the commercialadvertisement. In some examples, operation 1208 may be performed basedon the detecting in operation 1206 that the gaze of the user is directedat the commercial advertisement. Operation 1208 may be performed in anyof the ways described herein.

In operation 1210, the virtual reality media system may generatepromotional effectiveness data for the commercial advertisement withrespect to the user. In certain examples, the promotional effectivenessdata may be generated based on the amount of time that the gaze of theuser is directed at the commercial advertisement, as tracked duringoperation 1208. Operation 1210 may be performed in any of the waysdescribed herein.

In operation 1212, the virtual reality media system may provide thepromotional effectiveness data generated in operation 1210 to a billingsystem. The billing system may be configured to bill a commercialsponsor associated with the commercial advertisement based on thepromotional effectiveness data. Operation 1212 may be performed in anyof the ways described herein.

FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary method 1300 of determining aneffectiveness of content in an immersive virtual reality world. Inparticular, method 1300 illustrates an exemplary way to determinepromotional effectiveness of commercial advertisements in the immersivevirtual reality world. While FIG. 13 illustrates exemplary operationsaccording to one embodiment, other embodiments may omit, add to,reorder, and/or modify any of the operations shown in FIG. 13. One ormore of the operations shown in FIG. 13 may be performed by system 400and/or any implementation thereof.

In operation 1302, a virtual reality media system may provide, fordisplay on a display screen of a media player device associated with auser, a field of view of an immersive virtual reality world. In someexamples, the immersive virtual reality world may be generated from andmay include camera-captured real-world scenery. Additionally, the fieldof view may include content of the immersive virtual reality world andmay dynamically change in response to user input provided by the user asthe user experiences the immersive virtual reality world. Operation 1302may be performed in any of the ways described herein.

In operation 1304, the virtual reality media system may integrate acommercial advertisement into the immersive virtual reality world.Operation 1304 may be performed in any of the ways described herein.

In operation 1306, the virtual reality media system may track a gazereticle while the commercial advertisement is included within the fieldof view. In some examples, the gaze reticle may be persistently centeredwithin the field of view with respect to at least one of a verticaldimension of the field of view and a horizontal dimension of the fieldof view. Operation 1306 may be performed in any of the ways describedherein.

In operation 1308, the virtual reality media system may determine thatthe gaze reticle is directed at the commercial advertisement based onthe tracking in operation 1306 of the gaze reticle. Operation 1308 maybe performed in any of the ways described herein.

In operation 1310, the virtual reality media system may track an amountof time that the gaze of the user is directed at the commercialadvertisement based on the determining in operation 1308 that the gazereticle is directed at the commercial advertisement. Operation 1310 maybe performed in any of the ways described herein.

In operation 1312, the virtual reality media system may generatepromotional effectiveness data for the commercial advertisement withrespect to the user. In some examples, the promotional effectivenessdata may be generated based on the amount of time that the gaze of theuser is directed at the commercial advertisement. Operation 1312 may beperformed in any of the ways described herein.

In operation 1314, the virtual reality media system may aggregate thepromotional effectiveness data for the commercial advertisement withrespect to the user generated in operation 1312 with promotionaleffectiveness data for the commercial advertisement with respect to aplurality of other users. As such, operation 1314 may generateaggregated promotional effectiveness data for the commercialadvertisement with respect to a plurality of users experiencing theimmersive virtual reality world. The plurality of users experiencing theimmersive virtual reality world may include both the user and theplurality of other users. Operation 1314 may be performed in any of theways described herein.

In operation 1316, the virtual reality media system may integrateprofile data related to each of the plurality of users experiencing theimmersive virtual reality world into the aggregated promotionaleffectiveness data. Operation 1316 may be performed in any of the waysdescribed herein.

In operation 1318, the virtual reality media system may provide theaggregated promotional effectiveness data to a billing system configuredto bill a commercial sponsor based on the aggregated promotionaleffectiveness data. The commercial sponsor may be associated with thecommercial advertisement. Operation 1318 may be performed in any of theways described herein.

In certain embodiments, one or more of the systems, components, and/orprocesses described herein may be implemented and/or performed by one ormore appropriately configured computing devices. To this end, one ormore of the systems and/or components described above may include or beimplemented by any computer hardware and/or computer-implementedinstructions (e.g., software) embodied on at least one non-transitorycomputer-readable medium configured to perform one or more of theprocesses described herein. In particular, system components may beimplemented on one physical computing device or may be implemented onmore than one physical computing device. Accordingly, system componentsmay include any number of computing devices, and may employ any of anumber of computer operating systems.

In certain embodiments, one or more of the processes described hereinmay be implemented at least in part as instructions embodied in anon-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by one or morecomputing devices. In general, a processor (e.g., a microprocessor)receives instructions, from a non-transitory computer-readable medium,(e.g., a memory, etc.), and executes those instructions, therebyperforming one or more processes, including one or more of the processesdescribed herein. Such instructions may be stored and/or transmittedusing any of a variety of known computer-readable media.

A computer-readable medium (also referred to as a processor-readablemedium) includes any non-transitory medium that participates inproviding data (e.g., instructions) that may be read by a computer(e.g., by a processor of a computer). Such a medium may take many forms,including, but not limited to, non-volatile media, and/or volatilemedia. Non-volatile media may include, for example, optical or magneticdisks and other persistent memory. Volatile media may include, forexample, dynamic random access memory (“DRAM”), which typicallyconstitutes a main memory. Common forms of computer-readable mediainclude, for example, a disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any othermagnetic medium, a compact disc read-only memory (“CD-ROM”), a digitalvideo disc (“DVD”), any other optical medium, random access memory(“RAM”), programmable read-only memory (“PROM”), electrically erasableprogrammable read-only memory (“EPROM”), FLASH-EEPROM, any other memorychip or cartridge, or any other tangible medium from which a computercan read.

FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary computing device 1400 that may bespecifically configured to perform one or more of the processesdescribed herein. As shown in FIG. 14, computing device 1400 may includea communication interface 1402, a processor 1404, a storage device 1406,and an input/output (“I/O”) module 1408 communicatively connected via acommunication infrastructure 1410. While an exemplary computing device1400 is shown in FIG. 14, the components illustrated in FIG. 14 are notintended to be limiting. Additional or alternative components may beused in other embodiments. Components of computing device 1400 shown inFIG. 14 will now be described in additional detail.

Communication interface 1402 may be configured to communicate with oneor more computing devices. Examples of communication interface 1402include, without limitation, a wired network interface (such as anetwork interface card), a wireless network interface (such as awireless network interface card), a modem, an audio/video connection,and any other suitable interface.

Processor 1404 generally represents any type or form of processing unitcapable of processing data or interpreting, executing, and/or directingexecution of one or more of the instructions, processes, and/oroperations described herein. Processor 1404 may direct execution ofoperations in accordance with one or more applications 1412 or othercomputer-executable instructions such as may be stored in storage device1406 or another computer-readable medium.

Storage device 1406 may include one or more data storage media, devices,or configurations and may employ any type, form, and combination of datastorage media and/or device. For example, storage device 1406 mayinclude, but is not limited to, a hard drive, network drive, flashdrive, magnetic disc, optical disc, RAM, dynamic RAM, other non-volatileand/or volatile data storage units, or a combination or sub-combinationthereof. Electronic data, including data described herein, may betemporarily and/or permanently stored in storage device 1406. Forexample, data representative of one or more executable applications 1412configured to direct processor 1404 to perform any of the operationsdescribed herein may be stored within storage device 1406. In someexamples, data may be arranged in one or more databases residing withinstorage device 1406.

I/O module 1408 may include one or more I/O modules configured toreceive user input and provide user output. One or more I/O modules maybe used to receive input for a single virtual reality experience. I/Omodule 1408 may include any hardware, firmware, software, or combinationthereof supportive of input and output capabilities. For example, I/Omodule 1408 may include hardware and/or software for capturing userinput, including, but not limited to, a keyboard or keypad, atouchscreen component (e.g., touchscreen display), a receiver (e.g., anRF or infrared receiver), motion sensors, and/or one or more inputbuttons.

I/O module 1408 may include one or more devices for presenting output toa user, including, but not limited to, a graphics engine, a display(e.g., a display screen), one or more output drivers (e.g., displaydrivers), one or more audio speakers, and one or more audio drivers. Incertain embodiments, I/O module 1408 is configured to provide graphicaldata to a display for presentation to a user. The graphical data may berepresentative of one or more graphical user interfaces and/or any othergraphical content as may serve a particular implementation.

In some examples, any of the facilities described herein may beimplemented by or within one or more components of computing device1400. For example, one or more applications 1412 residing within storagedevice 1406 may be configured to direct processor 1404 to perform one ormore processes or functions associated with communication facility 402,advertisement integration facility 404, tracking facility 406, orvirtual reality media content presentation facility 408 (see FIG. 4).Likewise, storage facility 410 may be implemented by or within storagedevice 1406.

To the extent the aforementioned embodiments collect, store, and/oremploy personal information provided by individuals, it should beunderstood that such information shall be used in accordance with allapplicable laws concerning protection of personal information.Additionally, the collection, storage, and use of such information maybe subject to consent of the individual to such activity, for example,through well known “opt-in” or “opt-out” processes as may be appropriatefor the situation and type of information. Storage and use of personalinformation may be in an appropriately secure manner reflective of thetype of information, for example, through various encryption andanonymization techniques for particularly sensitive information.

In the preceding description, various exemplary embodiments have beendescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will, however,be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto,and additional embodiments may be implemented, without departing fromthe scope of the invention as set forth in the claims that follow. Forexample, certain features of one embodiment described herein may becombined with or substituted for features of another embodimentdescribed herein. As another example, while certain examples describedherein are directed to determining an effectiveness of a commercialadvertisement included in an immersive virtual reality world, one ormore principles described herein may be similarly applied (e.g., bysystem 400) to determine an effectiveness of other content (e.g., anon-sponsored virtual or real-world-scenery object included in theimmersive virtual reality world.) The description and drawings areaccordingly to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictivesense.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: assigning, by a virtual reality media system, a plurality of display parameters to a three-dimensional (“3D”) virtual object that is to be integrated into an immersive virtual reality world, the plurality of display parameters defining: a time period during which the 3D virtual object is viewable within the immersive virtual reality world to a user experiencing the immersive virtual reality world, a location of the 3D virtual object as the location appears to the user during the time period, an orientation of the 3D virtual object as the orientation appears to the user during the time period, and a size of the 3D virtual object as the size appears to the user during the time period; integrating, by the virtual reality media system during the time period and in accordance with the assigned plurality of display parameters, the 3D virtual object into the immersive virtual reality world with real objects represented in the immersive virtual reality world, the real objects included within camera-captured real-world scenery from which the immersive virtual reality world is generated; dynamically changing, by the virtual reality media system during the time period, a display parameter included in the plurality of display parameters so as to change at least one of the location, the orientation, and the size of the 3D virtual object to cause the 3D virtual object to appear to the user to move or change within the immersive virtual reality world during the time period; and integrating, by the virtual reality media system, content into the immersive virtual reality world by presenting the content on the 3D virtual object while the display parameter is dynamically changing to cause the 3D virtual object to appear to the user to move or change within the immersive virtual reality world.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the camera-captured real-world scenery from which the immersive virtual reality world is generated is separate from real-world scenery in an immediate vicinity of the user; and further comprising providing, by the virtual reality media system for display on a display screen of a media player device being used by the user, virtual reality media content representative of the immersive virtual reality world, the virtual reality media content depicting the camera-captured real-world scenery and not depicting the real-world scenery in the immediate vicinity of the user.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the dynamic changing of the display parameter is performed by at least one of: changing a positional parameter determinative of the location of the 3D virtual object to cause the 3D virtual object to appear to the user to move within the immersive virtual reality world; changing an orientational parameter determinative of the orientation of the 3D virtual object to cause the 3D virtual object to appear to the user to rotate within the immersive virtual reality world; and changing a scaling parameter determinative of the size of the 3D virtual object to cause the size of the 3D virtual object to appear to the user to change within the immersive virtual reality world.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: detecting, by the virtual reality media system while the content is integrated into the immersive virtual reality world, that a gaze of the user is directed at the content; tracking, by the virtual reality media system based on the detecting, an amount of time that the gaze of the user is directed at the content; and generating, by the virtual reality media system, promotional effectiveness data for the content with respect to the user based on the amount of time that the gaze of the user is directed at the content.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the dynamic changing of the display parameter that causes the 3D virtual object to appear to the user to move or change within the immersive virtual reality world further causes the content presented on the 3D virtual object to further appear to the user to move or change within the immersive virtual reality world in accordance with the move or change of the 3D virtual object.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the integrating of the content into the immersive virtual reality world by presenting the content on the 3D virtual object includes mapping the content onto an outer surface of the 3D virtual object such that the content is viewable during the time period as a skin of the 3D virtual object.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the content integrated into the immersive virtual reality world includes a still image.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the content integrated into the immersive virtual reality world includes at least one of an animated image and a video.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the content is interactive content configured to change from a banner to a video presentation when the user is detected to gaze at the content for a predetermined length of time.
 10. The method of claim 1, embodied as computer-executable instructions on at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium.
 11. A method comprising: assigning, by a virtual reality media system, a plurality of display parameters to a three-dimensional (“3D”) virtual object that is to be integrated into an immersive virtual reality world, the plurality of display parameters defining: a time period during which the 3D virtual object is viewable within the immersive virtual reality world to a user experiencing the immersive virtual reality world, a location of the 3D virtual object as the location appears to the user during the time period, an orientation of the 3D virtual object as the orientation appears to the user during the time period, and a size of the 3D virtual object as the size appears to the user during the time period; integrating, by the virtual reality media system during the time period and in accordance with the assigned plurality of display parameters, the 3D virtual object into the immersive virtual reality world with real objects represented in the immersive virtual reality world, the real objects included within camera-captured real-world scenery from which the immersive virtual reality world is generated; dynamically changing, by the virtual reality media system during the time period, at least one of a positional parameter included in the plurality of display parameters and determinative of the location of the 3D virtual object to cause the 3D virtual object to appear to the user to move within the immersive virtual reality world, an orientational parameter included in the plurality of display parameters and determinative of the orientation of the 3D virtual object to cause the 3D virtual object to appear to the user to rotate within the immersive virtual reality world, and a scaling parameter included in the plurality of display parameters and determinative of the size of the 3D virtual object to cause the size of the 3D virtual object to appear to the user to change within the immersive virtual reality world; integrating, by the virtual reality media system, content into the immersive virtual reality world by presenting the content on the 3D virtual object while the at least one of the positional parameter, the orientational parameter, and the scaling parameter is dynamically changing; detecting, by the virtual reality media system while the content is integrated into the immersive virtual reality world, that a gaze of the user is directed at the content; tracking, by the virtual reality media system based on the detecting, an amount of time that the gaze of the user is directed at the content; and generating, by the virtual reality media system, promotional effectiveness data for the content with respect to the user based on the amount of time that the gaze of the user is directed at the content.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the camera-captured real-world scenery from which the immersive virtual reality world is generated is separate from real-world scenery in an immediate vicinity of the user; and further comprising providing, by the virtual reality media system for display on a display screen of a media player device being used by the user, virtual reality media content representative of the immersive virtual reality world, the virtual reality media content depicting the camera-captured real-world scenery and not depicting the real-world scenery in the immediate vicinity of the user.
 13. The method of claim 11, embodied as computer-executable instructions on at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium.
 14. A system comprising: at least one physical computing device that assigns a plurality of display parameters to a three-dimensional (“3D”) virtual object that is to be integrated into an immersive virtual reality world, the plurality of display parameters defining: a time period during which the 3D virtual object is viewable within the immersive virtual reality world to a user experiencing the immersive virtual reality world, a location of the 3D virtual object as the location appears to the user during the time period, an orientation of the 3D virtual object as the orientation appears to the user during the time period, and a size of the 3D virtual object as the size appears to the user during the time period; integrates, during the time period and in accordance with the assigned plurality of display parameters, the 3D virtual object into the immersive virtual reality world with real objects represented in the immersive virtual reality world, the real objects included within camera-captured real-world scenery from which the immersive virtual reality world is generated; dynamically changes, during the time period, a display parameter included in the plurality of display parameters so as to change at least one of the location, the orientation, and the size of the 3D virtual object to cause the 3D virtual object to appear to the user to move or change within the immersive virtual reality world during the time period; and integrates content into the immersive virtual reality world by presenting the content on the 3D virtual object while the display parameter is dynamically changing to cause the 3D virtual object to appear to the user to move or change within the immersive virtual reality world.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the camera-captured real-world scenery from which the immersive virtual reality world is generated is separate from real-world scenery in an immediate vicinity of the user; and the at least one physical computing device further provides, for display on a display screen of a media player device being used by the user, virtual reality media content representative of the immersive virtual reality world, the virtual reality media content depicting the camera-captured real-world scenery and not depicting the real-world scenery in the immediate vicinity of the user.
 16. The system of claim 14, wherein the at least one physical computing device performs the dynamic changing of the display parameter by at least one of: changing a positional parameter determinative of the location of the 3D virtual object to cause the 3D virtual object to appear to the user to move within the immersive virtual reality world; changing an orientational parameter determinative of the orientation of the 3D virtual object to cause the 3D virtual object to appear to the user to rotate within the immersive virtual reality world; and changing a scaling parameter determinative of the size of the 3D virtual object to cause the size of the 3D virtual object to appear to the user to change within the immersive virtual reality world.
 17. The system of claim 14, wherein the at least one physical computing device further: detects, while the content is integrated into the immersive virtual reality world, that a gaze of the user is directed at the content; tracks, based on the detection, an amount of time that the gaze of the user is directed at the content; and generates promotional effectiveness data for the content with respect to the user based on the amount of time that the gaze of the user is directed at the content.
 18. The system of claim 14, wherein, as part of dynamically changing the display parameter to cause the 3D virtual object to appear to the user to move or change within the immersive virtual reality world, the at least one physical computing device further causes the content presented on the 3D virtual object to appear to the user to move or change within the immersive virtual reality world in accordance with the move or change of the 3D virtual object.
 19. The system of claim 14, wherein the at least one physical computing device integrates the content into the immersive virtual reality world by mapping the content onto an outer surface of the 3D virtual object such that the content is viewable during the time period as a skin of the 3D virtual object.
 20. The system of claim 14, wherein the content integrated into the immersive virtual reality world includes at least one of a still image, an animated image, and a video. 